Why Ellis isn’t crying over COSAFA Women’s Championship final loss

Sasol Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis is choosing to look at the silver lining after her young squad fell 2-1 to Namibia in a gruelling COSAFA Women’s Championship final on Sunday.

While the “Brave Warriors” of Namibia made history at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium by lifting their first-ever regional trophy, Ellis insisted the tournament served a much greater purpose for the future of South African football.

A Leap of Faith in Banyana Youth By Ellis

With an eye on the long-term horizon, Ellis fielded a remarkably young side throughout the tournament, including several teenagers aged 16 to 18.

“I am very proud of the team. They were brave and showed a lot of courage,” said the four-time CAF Coach of the Year. “We have a bigger core group now because of this. The medal will remind them to never get the same feeling again, but this was a worthwhile exercise.”

On a sweltering afternoon in Polokwane, South Africa looked set to claim gold early on. After making three tactical changes to the side that beat Zimbabwe in the semi-finals, the hosts played with intent.

Nthabiseng Majiya broke the deadlock in the 38th minute, tucking away her second goal of the campaign after Bonolo Mokoma had already rattled the crossbar with a long-range effort.

However, the second half belonged to a rejuvenated Namibia. Muhinatjo Hanavi silenced the home crowd in the 54th minute with a stunning equaliser that sent the game into extra time. It was there that the Brave Warriors found the decisive blow, snatching the lead in the first half of the restart and defending heroically to see out the victory.

Ellis acknowledged that while the loss stung, the fatigue of playing five matches compared to Namibia’s four eventually took its toll on her “young brigade.”

“Goals win you matches. Even before extra time, we had enough chances to win it,” Ellis noted. “We conceded poorly, but this is a young group. Winning gold would have been fantastic, but we fell short. We must congratulate Namibia; they were resolute.”

COSAFA Women’s Championship Tournament Takeaways

Despite the second-place finish, the tournament highlighted the depth of South Africa’s talent pool. Six different players found the back of the net for Banyana during the competition:

Nthabiseng Majiya (2 goals). Bonolo Mokoma. Gabriela Moodaly-Salgado. Nonhlanhla Mthandi. Thorisho Mphelo. Sibulele Holweni.