Matlou epitomises growth as Banyana prep for Awcon

PROGRESS has been made and the omens are good for Banyana Banyana in their quest to qualify for their first World Cup.

The senior women’s national team finished sixth – ahead of Austria, Wales, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Finland and Hungary – in the 12-team Cyprus Cup this week to match their best performance in the event in 2009. This tournament is part of Banyana’s preparations in a busy year that will see them play in the qualifiers of the Africa Women Cup of Nations (Awcon) and then the tournament itself later this year with the top three teams booking a ticket to France to represent Africa in the World Cup next year. Banyana’s Thembi Kgatlana was voted as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

“The challenge was to improve on our performance against Sweden in our last match before Cyprus,” said coach Desiree Ellis

“We improved tremendously. We worked a lot on our tactical side of things and finishing. In that sense I think we have improved a lot. Yes, we wanted better results but we sort of did get them to an extent. The most important thing was to see progress which is what I saw. We constantly made changes in our team to give every player a run. But it didn’t matter who we put on the park. That’s the growth in this team that I am proud of.”

Ellis continued, “We played all the players and they did well. This tournament showed us that we don’t have a team but we have a squad and on any given day we can play against anyone. The players repaid the faith we put in them.

“When I looked at them after the game against Belgium (the fifth place playoff), they were crying and it shows how much it means to the players. That’s what we want. They’ve played with passion and heart. We can only grow from here. But we need to play against such opposition to get ready for the Awcon qualifiers and the Awcon.”

Banyana will face the winner between Swaziland and Lesotho in the second round of the Awcon qualifiers in June with a ticket to Ghana up for grabs.

Part of fine-tuning the team saw Ellis field Noko Matlou in her old position up front. “We are trying different things,” Ellis said. “We spoke to her before. She really did what we asked of a striker, to hold the ball and make the team play.

“She scored against Belgium. She showed she is very versatile, shining at centreback and up front. Noko is a true pro... an excellent striker and excellent defender. You love players who are prepared to play anywhere to help the team.”