CAPE TOWN – Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis heaped praise on her team following their 4-0 victory over Mali in their final Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) group match at Honneur Stadium in Oujda, Morocco, on Monday.
South Africa finished top of Group B after securing two wins and played a draw against Tanzania.
Ellis’ charges had already secured their spot in the WAFCON quarterfinals after Morocco defeated Senegal 1-0 and Zambia claimed a similar 1-0 win over DR Congo on Saturday.
“Look, we knew the two games that we played we are better than that. We consistently worked on what we need to improve,” said Ellis.
“Sometimes it doesn’t happen overnight, but today was a statement. A statement of intent, a statement of resilience, a statement of who we are. I think there was maybe one or two long balls.
“Everything, the movement of the ball, the quick passing, the rotation, the overloads, the under laps, everything should go to the technical team.”
Ellis says the African champions worked tirelessly on training as they had one training session before the Mali game.
“We consistently worked on certain things to get better and today we showed the quality that we have, but we need to use this to fuel ourselves to even get better because it doesn’t matter the result,” she said.
“You’re always looking for room for improvement and I think today we were applauding certain things on the pitch.
“We made so many changes at half-time and we trust each and every player in our squad. The way they just continued with what we started in the first half, it was pure joy.”
