South African women's football team coach Desiree Ellis is delighted with the attitude exhibited by her charges ahead of tonight's encounter against Equatorial Guinea in the ongoing Africa Women's Cup of Nations.
The Banyana Banyana pulled a surprise over the weekend when they inflicted a 1-0 defeat on tournament favourites Nigeria at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium.
However, Ellis says her side have looked level-headed after the shock win over the Super Falcons as they aim to book their ticket to the semifinal stage of the competition.
“After losing so heavily to Zambia, they’ll be difficult to face because they’ll come out fighting,’’ Ellis said. “But when I looked at our players during training they are level-headed because we’ve got a lot of experience. So they are keeping everyone grounded. For some, this is their last opportunity to go to the World Cup. And the beauty of this group is that we celebrated on the night and went on to prepare for the next game.”
With a World Cup qualification only secured through a top-three finish at the continental showpiece, Ellis is adamant that a whitewash in the group stages will be a good stepping stone for the remainder of the tournament. The South Africans also have a score to settle against Equatorial Guinea who beat them 4-0 defeat in the Awcon 2012 final. However, that revenge will have to come through grabbing all three points, tonight, and putting one foot in last four.