Banyana coach Desiree Ellis hopes for improvements after camp with local stars

Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis hopes to see improvements in defence when her team comes out of camp. 

A Banyana squad, made up of local players from the Hollywoodbets Super League, is in camp in Johannesburg as they fine-tune their preparation for the Women’s Fifa World Cup in New Zealand and Australia from July 20. 

Speaking at the unveiling of Sasol's campaign for the team’s World Cup crusade in Johannesburg on Wednesday, Ellis said the recent trip to Serbia had exposed a lot of frailties in her side’s defence as South Africa lost 3-2.

In that game, Banyana struggled to defend set piece plays and they are under pressure to get it sorted before they get on the flight to the world showpiece. 

“It’s step by step, every game we go to and every camp we go to we are looking for improvements,” Ellis told journalists. 

“In the last game we had a lot of defensive frailties, especially in set pieces. This camp is looking at what could have been done better and how we need to defend better against set pieces. 

“Everybody needs to understand their role, but more importantly, we need to keep working on our defensive organisation. 

“When we played Serbia, we had watched them and saw how they played balls through and not once did they penetrate our defence, that was a plus for us,” she said. 

“We are also working on our offensive structure. 

“We know in the games that we are going to play we might not have the ball, so we need to be better at not having the ball and what do we do when we don’t have the ball.” 

Banyana’s main sponsor, Sasol, has reaffirmed its commitment to the national team and urged the country to rally behind Ellis and the team. 

The company’s executive vice-president for human resources and stakeholder relations Charlotte Mokoena said Banyana are up against a tough challenge and can do with the support of the nation. 

“Nelson Mandela once said sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people. Now we are headed to the biggest stage in women’s football, where the challenge is bigger, the opponents are harder, and every game is difficult,” Mokoena said. 

“However, I can attest that these ladies are fearless and will represent South Africa to the best of their ability. But they need us, South Africa. This is our chance to show the world what our athletes are capable of.”

At the World Cup, Banyana will play from Group G alongside Sweden, Italy and Argentina.