BLOEMFONTEIN – Banyana Banyana’s head coach, Dr Desire Ellis, is in a buoyant mood after advancing to the third round of the 2028 CAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying tournament with a convincing 7 – 0 victory over Madagascar. Her charges exploited the home-ground advantage at the Toyota Stadium to outclass their opponents.
In the second-leg Olympic qualifier played on Tuesday, Banyana beat the island side 3-0, adding to their 4-0 victory in the first leg played last Friday. The South African side are highly motivated to be on course for the Olympic stage after failing to qualify for the last two editions. However, the continental pathway remains a demanding marathon.
Ellis expressed great satisfaction with certain fundamental aspects of the game after the Madagascar match. She highlighted keeping a clean sheet, converting scoring chances in both matches, and an impressive performance by a blend of new players.
“Winning gives you that confidence, keeping a clean sheet has the same effect as well, so these two wins were real morale boosters for us going into some very important games to give us that momentum,” said Ellis.
The reputable mentor introduced six players, who include youthful ones as she continues to build for the future and was equally buoyant about their overall performance. Banyana’s on-form goal-getter Ronnel Donnelly was the star in both matches as she banged in five goals in two games. She scored a hat-trick in the first match and grabbed her brace, increasing her tally to five goals against the lacklustre Madagascar.
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While happy with the number of goals scored, Ellis believes there was room for improvement in the striking department and the need to be clinical ahead of the tougher opponents in Banyana’s dream to qualify for the Olympics.
Ellis highlighted composure and decision-making among the strikers in front of the goal. Experienced international forward Thembi Kgatlana, who captained the team, was the chief culprit, unable to find the target with the opposition keeper in no-man’s-land.
“We created chances but didn’t convert them because we were not patient enough to get the goals. “We could have scored more as the opportunities were there,” said Ellis.
The Banyana players are gearing up for a tougher face-off against Angola in the third round of the Olympic qualifying in February or March after the latter beat Namibia 2-0 in their second-leg outing.
The senior women have a twofold mission: to reach the Olympic Games final and also prepare for next month’s FIFA World Cup play-offs which will be held in Rabat, Morocco. Banyana have been drawn against Chinese Taipei, Ecuador, and Uzbekistan in the play-offs.
