Cup draw ‘fair’ but team can up their game

Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis is satisfied, if not overjoyed, with how her side started the Cyprus Cup.

South Africa twice had to come from behind in the second half against Finland to earn a 2-2 draw in the opening game of the competition. The Nordic nation is ranked 20 places higher than Ellis’s side but she would have preferred Banyana to impose their own game on the match.

“We looked a bit rushed when we should have just held on to the ball and passed it around,” she said. “As the game went on it got better. We had a fantastic chance just before half-time with Rhoda [Mulaudzi] being put through. We all thought it was a goal but unfortunately she didn’t score — it looked easier to score than to miss. Those are opportunities that will be few and far between against some teams and those are ones we have to take.”

After neither side could break through in the first half, Finland found the opener in the 48th minute as hail and rain began to punish the pitch. Banyana had to wait more than 20 minutes for an equaliser when Leandra Smeda converted a 69th-minute penalty. Reigning African player of the year Thembi Kgatlana was then needed off the bench to restore parity after Finland once again nudged ahead.

“It shows the character of the team but we cannot consistently make the same mistakes. Teams at a higher level will punish you. We have to react quicker and track players better,” Ellis said.

“I think 2-2 is a fair result.

I’m happy with the result but I feel we just really have to up our performances.”

With the World Cup now less than 100 days away, the Cyprus

Cup is viewed as the perfect preparation for South Africa to test themselves against some of the better teams on the international scene. Next up is Korea DPR on Friday afternoon.

“It comes thick and fast and now you have to mentally switch on.

You have to be physically ready and show character,” Ellis insists. “I think that’s important. We’re also playing a much higher-ranked team. But we’ve played them before and I don’t think they would have changed much. For us it’s important to get the game plan right but also to execute the game plan better.”

Banyana will play the Czech Republic in the final group stage game on Monday. — Luke Feltham