It’s now do or die for Banyana in Ghana, says Ellis

BANYANA BANYANA’S failure to achieve a perfect march to the semifinals of the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations was somewhat of a blessing in disguise.

The South African women’s senior national team booked their place in the last four of the continental showpiece courtesy of a 1-1 draw with Zambia following earlier victories against Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea.

And while they have topped Group B, Saturday’s bump will ensure Desiree Ellis’ team do not get carried away.

The coach admitted this much during her post-match press conference in Ghana.

“We said from the beginning that there will be no easy games. We did not play well today, but this (draw) is a good blip because we got it now and we are through to the semi-finals,” Ellis said.

“It gives us a chance to regroup and work on a few things and get the group motivated again before the next match.”

Ellis was also pleased that her team topped their group.

“We’ve played in these kind of competitions before, but to top the group is a rarity. We came into the match not wanting to avoid a loss and perhaps that is what affected the players a bit,” she said.

That though is neither here nor there as Banyana are through to the knockout phase with their sights now set on Mali.

“It’s like a final for us now. It’s do or die. One game to go. Win that and we are through to the World Cup. That been our motivation, our ultimate goal.”

The top three sides at Awcon will represent the continent at next year’s global showpiece in France, and Banyana are looking for their maiden appearance at the ultimate stage.

“Of course as coaches we would like to have the perfect match and this one was not. But we are still in it. The important thing is that we managed to grind out a result and it is good that we were able to do that when we were not playing well,” Ellis said.

It actually looked like they would do to their neighbours what they did to their previous opposition.

Thembi Kgatlana put Banyana ahead with a seventh-minute strike, her fourth goal of the tournament that earned her a third Player-of-the-Match award.

But Banyana went to sleep and allowed Zambia to equalise almost immediately.

From there on it was a cat-andmouse fight as the two teams chased each other looking for the winning goal that never came.

Ellis lamented the lapse in concentration and warned her team against making such errors going forward.

“We have to be on top of our game throughout. We cannot settle down for one minute and we will underestimate any team at our own peril. Today was a tough game between neighbours, no sisterly love on the pitch.”