Desiree Ellis proud of young Banyana as they secure silver in Cosafa final

Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis praised her young brigade, despite falling 2-1 to Namibia in the final of the Cosafa Women’s Championship at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Sunday.

Ellis said she had an eye on the future while participating in the regional tournament.

“I am very proud of the team: they were brave and they showed a lot of courage. They were stretched to the limit and we have a bigger core group now because of this,” she said.

“We have a few 16, 17, 18-year-olds in the team — [losing the final was] not the experience they would have wanted, but I think the medal will remind them to never get the same feeling.

“This was a worthwhile exercise and we can now safely say there is a great future for South African women’s football.”

On a hot Polokwane afternoon, Banyana had made three changes to the team that defeated Zimbabwe in the semifinals, with Sibongakonke Mzobe, Bongiwe Thusi and Bonolo Mokoma getting the nod ahead of Sibulele Holweni, Gabriela Moodaly-Salgado and Isabella Ludwig.

The move seemed to pay dividends as Mokoma hit the crossbar with a thunderous shot early in the game before Nthabiseng Majiya put the home side ahead in the 38th minute, her second of the tournament.

The Brave Warriors returned rejuvenated from the break and equalised in the 54th through substitute Muhinatjo Hanavi with a long-range shot.

Namibia stunned the hosts in the opening exchanges of extra time via Memory Ngonda’s winner and held on to lift their first Cosafa Women’s Championship trophy.

Winning a gold medal would have been fantastic but we fell short.

—  Desiree Ellis

“Goals win you matches, and I think throughout the game, even before extra time, we had enough chances to make sure we would win the game,” Ellis said.

“I thought we conceded poorly, but as I said, this is a young group. We played five games; they [Namibia] looked a bit fresher towards the end of the game — they played four games.

“Winning a gold medal would have been fantastic, but we fell short. We must also congratulate Namibia; they were resolute and they defended really well.”

South Africa had six different scorers in the tournament, with Majiya grabbing two, while Mokoma, Moodaly-Salgado, Nonhlanhla Mthandi, Thorisho Mphelo and Sibulele Holweni scored one each.

Zambia clinched bronze when they beat Zimbabwe 3-1 in the third-place play-off.