Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis says an early goal will help her team to settle when they face the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Monday.
Banyana began their CAF Olympic Games qualifiers with a 1-1 draw with DRC away in Kinshasa in the first leg on Wednesday this week.
It was a lukewarm result for Banyana as they bagged an away goal while failing to keep a clean sheet.
The reigning African Queens need to build on their away goal in the return leg at Orlando Stadium.
Sure, Banyana have the advantage, but history has taught them that nothing can be taken for granted, having bowed out of the last qualifiers to minnows Botswana.
And that’s why Ellis is not reading too much into the result from Stade des Martyrs, urging her troops to be on top of their game from the outset on Monday.
“The first 20 minutes are going to be key in making sure that we don’t concede, take the game to them and we score first,” Ellis explained.
“If we do that, we are going to put them under pressure. It’s still all to play for – even though we have the away goal, it can easily be snuffed out by them scoring first.
“We must make sure that we score and keep a clean sheet. That’s the only way that we are going to get through these qualifiers.”
Banyana didn’t get the desired result in Kinshasa due to several factors, including visa issues, exam schedules and injuries to some of the key players.
However, preparations for the return leg promise to be smooth, with Ellis having had the bulk of the players at her disposal during a training session at AW Muller Stadium in Johannesburg yesterday.
“We have Jermaine (Seoposenwe), Linda (Motlhalo), and Faith (Nokuthula) back. Unfortunately, Linda flew in during our last training session, and I had to take care of her well-being,” Ellis said.
“We also brought (Samkelisiwe) Selana in – she had visa issues before we left. We are a little bit stronger, especially in attack, and I think that augurs well for us.”
Everything looks in place for Banyana to continue their search for a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics, but they’ll have to do that without a certain individual for now.
Former captain Janine van Wyk was expected to have her swansong during the qualifiers, having announced her retirement from international football.
It would have been a glowing farewell for the 36-year-old player, as the two caps against the DRC would make her the highest-capped player, male or female, on the continent.
But after failing to go level with the highest-capped player in Africa, Ahmed Hassan (184) in Kinshasa, Van Wyk withdrew from the camp due to a mental block because of that disappointment.
Ellis has stressed that the door is not closed for her to get a record-breaking farewell, but for now she’s thrilled that the players at her disposal are giving their all for the team.
Due to the setbacks prior to the first leg, Ellis had to field players out of position. Winger Wendy Shongwe also played as a fullback.
“Players out of position (has worked for us). They can all play football … it’s just a matter of getting the structure right and (sticking to basics),” said Ellis.
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