Posted by In their 2024 Olympic Games qualifier against the Super Falcons of Nigeria, Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis thinks there is still a lot at stake.
On Friday night, in Abuja’s Moshood Abiola Stadium, the defending African champions fell to Nigeria, 1-0.
Two minutes before halftime, Asisat Oshoala scored from the penalty spot after Noko Matlou fouled Chiwendu Ihezuo inside the penalty area.
In the closely contested match, the Super Falcons were the better team, and Ellis’ side couldn’t keep up.
Nonetheless, the coach is hopeful that her squad will recover for the return match.
Sound Off Enhance Display
“Listen, we warned you this would be a close game, but we’re believing we can turn things around in the second leg,” Ellis told Safa.net.
We have not yet lost the match. The match was decided by a penalty, although we still had opportunities to score. We really stepped it up in the second half, made some great chances, and could have scored an equalizer, in my opinion.
“Well, we could have had a penalty in the dying minutes after Jermaine was fouled, but I’m really pleased with the team’s performance and we’ll be taking this victory back to Pretoria.”