Ellis pinpoints flaws in Banyana's hard-fought win in Three Nations Series

Desiree Ellis. Photo credit: Banyana Banyana

Despite a 3-2 win over Botswana in their Three Nations Series opener on Wednesday, Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis was far from satisfied, pointing out key areas where the team must improve.

Banyana Banyana quickly established their dominance at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville. Adrielle Mibe opened the scoring with her first goal for the national team in the 13th minute. Veteran Jermaine Seoposenwe then showcased her experience, bagging two goals in the 16th and 36th minutes to extend the lead.

However, Botswana's Mares fought back valiantly. Lesego Radiakanyo pulled one back in the 41st minute, and Laone Moloi further narrowed the gap in the 63rd minute, setting up a tense and competitive finish.

Banyana coach Ellis, while acknowledging her troops' victory, was quick to highlight areas for improvement in their performance, including a lack of defensive awareness and tactical discipline.

She noted that her team conceded preventable goals and failed to maintain their first-half intensity, especially in ball movement and off-the-ball runs.

“The first goal, we knew they were going to play the ball long. The second goal we gave away. We said, ‘be patient on the ball, don’t force it’, yet we played into the traffic when we could’ve played wide,” said Ellis.

“A little bit of a lapse in concentration. The tempo went down a bit in the second half. In the first half, it was very high, we moved the ball, but in the second half, we didn’t move the ball around, and we didn’t move around.

“We could’ve been better in our possession. We gave the ball away a lot when in possession, and we need to be better at that."

The Three Nations Series will continue with Botswana taking on Zambia this Saturday, May 31. Following that, Banyana will take on Zambia on Tuesday, June 3. Both matches are set for a 3pm kick-off at Lucas Moripe Stadium.