Sasol Banyana Banyana Head Coach Dr Desiree Ellis is eyeing another win in the 2025 COSAFA Women’s Championship when they face Group A leaders Angola in their second match of the competition.
This fixture will be played at the Seshego Stadium in Polokwane with a 12h30 kickoff. Both nations started the tournament positively with victories – South Africa defeating Malawi 2-0 while Angola got the better of Lesotho with 3-1 win at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday.
Sasol Banyana Banyana and Angola are tied on three points each, and the winner of this clash will move three points clear at the top, with an advantage of progression into the semifinals in this three-group 11-nation tournament.
Only the top teams in their respective groups will qualify for the last four, joined by the second-best placed team. Using a lot of youngsters in her team, Dr Ellis says a win will also help with the momentum.
“To get that win in the first game was important because we would be on the back foot and chasing. It was important to get that first victory, but it is just as important to get this one (vs Angola) then we know that we in are in the next round and not such a lot of pressure on the game against Lesotho,” said Dr Ellis.
“Then we are also able to keep that momentum with a new group of players because you want to build that confidence, and for many of them it’s the first time to be with the national team, so we want to play as many as we can.”
Dr Ellis says they know what to expect from Angola after studying them against Lesotho. South Africa will also take the opportunity to give more players a run.
“They are a very physical side, they have good pace upfront – we’ve worked a lot in how we can stop that but also how we can be better going forward because in the first game we didn’t really create that many chances, but today we worked really well on certain things and we hope that that comes to show tomorrow,” added Dr Ellis.
“In terms of players, it doesn’t make sense to bring them here and they don’t get an opportunity to play. Nobody’s really played any matches yet – so we are looking at refreshing the squad, but we have to get the combinations and the mix right to be able to get a positive result tomorrow.”
Lesotho and Malawi, who both lost their opening games, will face each other in the Group A fixture scheduled for 15h00, also at the Seshego Stadium.
