Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis has praised her troops’ versatility as she was forced to play a number of players out of position in the crucial Olympic qualifier against the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Wednesday afternoon.
The African champions battled to a hard-fought 1-1 draw against DRC in the first leg away from home at the Stade des Martyrs.
Thembi Kgatlana equalised in the 49th minute for Banyana, cancelling out Grace Mfwamba’s first-half opener for the hosts.
Ellis will be grinning from ear to ear after her side scored a crucial away goal. “We wanted to make sure that we came away with a positive result away from home, and we had a completely new backline,” said Ellis.
BANYANA EARN HARD-FOUGHT DRAW IN OLYMPIC QUALIFIER
“There were two 21-year-olds, one 20-year-old and one 22-year-old, and they were playing together for the first time.
“So I am very happy. I thought we could have won this game because we had a couple of chances, especially later in the match. But I am happy with the result,” added the Banyana coach.
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South Africa have a slight edge after scoring an away goal, but the Congolese will be no easy challenge in the return leg. Ellis’ team will host DRC at Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Monday, October 30.
And having missed out on Olympic qualification for Tokyo 2020, Banyana are eager to book their spot in Paris next year. They last featured at the 2016 Games.
The Banyana tactician has a daunting task ahead of her, with only two Olympic spots allocated to African nations. Her team must overcome seven potential matches to transform their Olympic aspirations into a reality.