Head coach of South Africa’s Banyana Banyana has said that her team will be at its best elements when they clash with hosts Nigeria’s Super Falcons in today’s crucial Paris Olympics Women’s Football Tournament CAF qualifiers final round first leg tie billed for 5pm (local time) at Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
This is even as she foresees a difficult game when both teams meet in Abuja because of the big rivalry between the two countries not only in football but in other spheres of life, pointing out that when it comes to South Africa and Nigeria the struggle to win becomes very fierce.
Speaking exclusively to Prompt News at Banyana Banyana’s Transcorp Hilton, Abuja ahead of today’s Olympics qualifiers double-header against Nigeri, Ellis revealed that she has drummed it into the ears of his players that it will be of utmost importance to be on their toes till the final whistle if they want to get a positive result from the crucial first leg match.
According to the reigning CAF Best Coach (Women’s) Nigeria is a tough opponent any day hence the need for her team to put up a good performance to avoid losing the match.
Said she: “Look, I will be honest with you regarding what Nigeria has done, multiple serial winners of WAFCON (Women’s Africa Cup of Nations) and qualified for every World Cup, etc. We have to respect that.
I know we have got really good results against them of late but this is a pretty new game, I don’t think the results out of the process has any bearing on this match.
It’s always a one tough game and like my assistants said, it’s like a boxing match and we are in the final round of the boxing match and to get the belt we gonna win the match or we gonna get the best result out of that match and that is what it is all about”.
Speaking further on what she thinks the outcome of the match in Abuja will be Ellis who was for captain of Banyana Banyana said it will be a difficult game and the team with better match strategy will carry the day.
“I think it’s gonna be a difficult match. It’s never an easy match. You know, when we drew against
Nigeria in the part to WAFCON match in 2018 and 2022, you always try to win your first game and because it’s Nigeria, the magnitude of the game changes and likewise the goals.
It is not only Banyana Banyana but with Bafana Bafana and other sporting events. There are a big rivalry amongst us
(Nigeria and South Africa)in terms of wanting to win it but we have got to respect what they have done. So that doesn’t go out of the window”.
She however revealed that her team is prepared for the tough battle against the Super Falcons, pointing out that they have adjusted well to the harsh weather condition in Abuja and looked forward to the crucial match today.
“We’ve got to make sure that we are at our utmost best and we gonna make sure that we execute our plans and we’ve gonna make sure that we get positive results because that is what it takes.
“But you can’t be idle for one second out of that 90 plus minutes, you have to be on top of your game because, you know that Nigeria is a quality side and you know that if you give them any leeway, you know the ball will be in the back of the net.
“So, we gonna make sure that whatever we do it’s gonna be 100% until the final whistle and you cannot, for one moment be quiet.
Probed further if she thinks that her team’s two recent defeats of Super Falcons in Aisha Buhari Cup and WAFCON in 2021 and 2022 in Lagos and Rabat, Morocco respectively will be an added motivation to beat their hosts, Ellis said she is will be deceiving herself by relying on the past glory.
Said she: “No, no, I think it’s gonna be a difficult game. It will be a tough game for both of us and I think it’s who wanted it the most and who executes the match plans better than the other one will carry the day.
“You know we are a team that always creates, I think it does not matter who we played against in the past, we have always created alot of chances.
You can go back to the last World Cup (in Australia and New Zealand), we created many chances.
“If we have taken our chances against the Netherlands, we would have been in the next round…. and that has been our biggest challenge. if we continue to create chances we may score goals.
“Obviously, not conceeding against Nigeria is what we will make sure it happens because Nigeria has fantastic players, there’s no two ways about it, you know.
” Everybody wants to go to Olympics and Nigeria has gone since 2012 and we (South Africa) has not gone since the last one which is 2020 and that is one thing as a group we have done but for the players they want to play globally.
“So it’s just more than a game, it’s a game where you’re either going to the Olympics or you are not going to the Olympics”.
