Ellis confident Banyana can beat the Super Falcons in Pretoria and qualify for 2024 Olympics

Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis was disappointed that her team lost 1-0 to Nigeria in the first leg of the fourth-round play-off to qualify for the 2024 Olympics, but she remains confident her side can turn the tables in Pretoria on Tuesday.

Obusayo Ojibade's 42nd minute penalty gave the Super Falcons an advantage going into the second leg at Loftus Stadium which Ellis has appealed to South Africans to come in their numbers for to support the African champions against the number one ranked women's team on the continent.

Ellis was particularly not happy with how her side performed in the first half in Abuja were they failed to get control of the match.

 “Look, I think in the first we didn't play.” said the Banyana coach after the match. We were too far apart and kept playing the long ball. They read that very well with Thembi (Kgatlana).

“We didn't have someone who could put the foot on the ball and I thought the way we gave the penalty away we could have handled the situation much better.

“But in the second half we came out and we started playing and created a couple of chances but we just couldn't get that equaliser. As we say it's halftime and we're looking forward to taking the game to Pretoria.”

While happy that Banyana will have home advantage in the second leg, Ellis remains wary of Nigeria and cautioned about switching off in critical moments.

“I think it's the same for both teams,” said Ellis of the second leg. We're both ball playing teams and surely it hindered us especially in the first half where we couldn't get going. But surely in the second half we rectified things and we started playing.

“But we're going back to familiar surroundings. We thought that they will cut the grass (Abuja) after our training session yesterday (Thursday) but unfortunately that didn't happen. We're not looking for any excuses, we had chances to equalise, but as we say it's halftime and we just have to make sure we're the first team to score going back to Pretoria.”

To win the second leg, Ellis said there were a couple of factors they needed to adhere to as a team, and that the team's recovery was crucial so they could be ready and fresh for the second leg.

“Our recovery has to be brilliant and everybody has to take due recovery protocols so that we recover really, really well because there's very little time in between,” said Ellis who has had three days to prepare for the second leg.

“We have to look at the footage to see how we can rectify things and how we can be better. We need to score but we need to be aware to not concede and make sure that we score first to get the game back on an even keel and then try to control it, which we did in the second half.”

Ellis said Banyana don't need anyone to remind them of how important it is to qualify for the Olympics. The South Africans will make a third appearance at the event if they beat Nigeria. They will join world champions Spain, Brazil and Japan in Group C in Paris.

“But you don't need any motivation,” insisted Ellis.

“Going to the Olympics is huge so you don't need motivation to lift yourself up. You don't need motivation to change your mentality.

“But it's now up to us to take the game to them and make sure that we score and also make sure that we're settled in defence and we don't concede. They don't have to come (and attack), they can sit back but the onus is on us (to attack). We're going back to familiar surroundings and we hope to take the game to them.”