It’s Half Time, South Africa Coach Tells Super Falcons After Defeat In Abuja

Banyana Banyana of South Africa head coach, Desiree Ellis, has warned the Super Falcons of Nigeria that the 2024 Summer Olympics qualification tie is not over.

On Friday, April 5, the Banyana Banyana of South Africa were at the MKO Abiola stadium in Abuja to take on the Super Falcons of Nigeria in the first leg of the 2024 Olympics qualifiers third round.

A first-half goal from the penalty spot via the boots of Rasheedat Ajibade earned the Super Falcons a slim 1-0 win over the reigning African champions.

The tie will be decided in the second leg which will take place in Pretoria on Tuesday, April 9. All the Super Falcons need in the game is either a draw or a win, while the South African team must record a win to qualify for the 2024 Olympics.

After the 1-0 defeat to the Super Falcons, Desiree Ellis who led Banyana Banyana to the 2022 African women’s championship victory stressed that her team will bounce back in the return leg.

“Look, I said before the game, it was going to be a tight game. We said that the result over two legs will be what matters”, Ellis told reporters in Abuja.

“We feel we’re still in the game, we created a couple of chances. A penalty decided the match but the tie is not over. I thought in the second half we raised our game a lot, and created a few chances.

“We could have equalized and maybe won a penalty at the end. But I’m proud of the team. And we’ll take it back. To Pretoria.”

She added, “Obviously, going to have a look at the footage and see where we can exploit the Falcons in the second leg. Because I thought defensively, we were really sound. And up until that moment from the penalty, we created a couple of chances. We also had a lot of players coming back from injury.

“Not having played 90 minutes. And I thought we got a lot out of them. So they are better in their legs now and be better in the second leg. But as Tembi Kagtlana said, for us, it’s half-time. We still have another half to go.”