Ellis: Use the ball quicker

Despite booking their spot in the final of the Cosafa Women’s Championship, Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis (above) was not entirely happy with the overall performance of her team, though she admitted the result mattered most.

The national women’s side beat Uganda 2-0 at Wolfson Stadium outside Port Elizabeth on Thursday, setting up a meeting with invitational team Cameroon in the final at the same venue today.

“We gave away a lot of possession and we were very wasteful in front of goal,” Ellis said.

“I said to them: ‘It is not about blasting the ball. It is about putting it into the back of the net’. But at the end of the day the result matters and we are looking forward to our next game.”

Ellis was pleased with the composure displayed by her squad in their midweek clash.

“We were always in control of the game and we were in control of what we were doing, even though they got half-chances when we started making mistakes,” she said.

“That is one area we have to work on to minimise our mistakes, and we must keep recycling the ball quicker.”

Cameroon are ranked third in the continent and will prove to be a true test for Banyana, with Ellis anticipating a strong challenge from the West Africans.

“They are very physical. We have played against them before, so we have to recycle the ball quicker and our movement has to be slightly better.”