Ellis looking for consistency
CUP OF NATIONS: BANYANA NEEDS A TOP-THREE FINISH
Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis is looking for consistency from her players’ performance as she finalises the squad that will compete at the Africa Women Championships in Ghana starting on November 17.
The Banyana mentor has stressed the importance of doing well at the tournament, which also serves as a World Cup qualifier for the top three teams at the competition.
“It’s all about raising your hand. If you look at the players that are currently here you will see that there are a few players who were not at Cosafa [Council of Southern Africa Football Associations] because they didn’t make the squad and there are players who were at Cosafa because they didn’t make the squad,” said Ellis.
“We want to make sure that there is no complacency. This is not just a tournament, it’s a World Cup qualifying tournament and if you are complacent ... the tough job is telling you that you didn’t make the cut and that is the worst part.”
Ellis added that it was difficult to select the provincial squad, which consists of 31 players currently in camp.
However, she will have to trim the squad to 21 that will do duty in Ghana by next week and says they will choose a competitive squad.
“It was difficult to select the players for this camp but we know that we will make the right decisions because we want the best players to play for the national team and players are constantly raising their hands.
“We would sit down at night, scratch a name out and the next day we put it back in because they are constantly raising their hands and that shows that each and every one wants to play and that is what is all about.
“So we will definitely make the right decision.”
Banyana are in group B at the tournament, alongside arch-rivals Nigeria, Zambia and Kenya.
They will play their first game against the Nigerians, followed by a clash with Kenya before wrapping up the group stages games with a tie against Zambia.