Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis is looking forward to carrying the momentum after a historical victory over Japan. Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellishas highlighted the weight carried by their historic victory over Japan, whom they beat 1-0 away on Tuesday morning. Linda Mothlalo netted the only goal from a corner kickdelivery bycaptain Refiloe Jane, who was playing her 150th cap on the day.
“If I’m not mistaken, it is our first win against a top-10 side, and what a way to do it. They recently came off a series against the USA where they won some games,” Ellis reflected on the victory. “So we will use this as a springboard to keep getting better.
We all know what this is about — it is about the preparations for WAFCON. WAFCON was supposed to happen in March, and we were going to play Japan after that.” The WAFCON is scheduled to take place in Morocco from July 25 to August 16,with Banyana drawn in Group C against Ghana, Mali and Tanzania. Banyana’s victory in Japan is historic for the whole African continent: it was the first time a senior African women’s side had beaten a top-ranked Japan.
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Banyana, though, were responding to a 5-0 defeat in the first leg at the weekend. Head coach Desiree Ellis freshened up her starting line-up with three changes, handing starts to Kaylin Swart, Bongeka Gamede and Thembi Kgatlana in place of Andile Dlamini, Nonhlanhla Mthandi and Gabriela Salgado respectively. Japan also reshuffled their team significantly, with Seiki Kiko the only player retained from the previous encounter.
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