It’s do or die, Ellis says of Nigeria duel
Banyana Banyana have it all to do as they look to overturn a 1-0 defeat they suffered to Nigeria in the Paris Olympic qualifier on Friday when they meet in the return leg at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria today (7.30pm).
A 2-0 victory for Banyana will be enough to book them a place in Paris later this year, while the Super Falcons just need to avoid a defeat in Tshwane to progress.
Banyana coach Desiree Ellis says they will leave everything on the pitch to make sure they are victorious.
“We always knew it was a two-legged match and we wanted to get a positive result in Nigeria, and that didn’t happen, but I thought we played better in the second half,” Ellis told Safa media.
“We are a ball-playing team and we created some of the opportunities in Nigeria.
“We all know it is a big match, we all know that the winner of the two legs ultimately goes to the Olympics and we want to be there.
“For us, it’s a game where we have to put in everything and there is no second-guessing, there are no second chances, it’s a game where we have to score and try to get a goal as early as we can.”
Ellis also highlighted they would need to be cautious about their approach as they still come up against a formidable side in the Super Falcons.
“We know we are coming up against a team that is leading 1-0 and we have to be ready for any eventuality in the way we think they might play.
“It’s a do-or-die match, there is no second chance and we have to go for it,” she said.
“We want to make sure we leave everything out on that pitch, we want to make sure we get the result and we have shown playing at home that we can score goals.
“But we are coming up against a formidable opponent, so we still have to show caution, but go for it.”
Banyana will have striker Sinoxolo Cesane available for this match after missing the first leg in Nigeria due to visa issues. The winner will join Group C in Paris alongside Spain, Japan and Brazil.