Sasol Banyana Banyana Head Coach Dr Desiree Ellis is singing the praises of her charges despite their early exit from the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON 2026) after a 1-2 quarterfinal defeat to host nation Morocco on Saturday night.
Two goals by the North Africans in either half through Sakina Ouzraoui and Hanane Ait El Haj put the home team ahead while South Africa pulled one back through Thembi Kgatlana. Banyana Banyana pushed all the way and almost scored in the dying minutes of the game but ran out of time to find an equalizer.
“For the first 35 minutes we were in control until we conceded, we had played well until that moment. Conceding that penalty just after half time put us back where we had to restart, but then we started playing again and got the goal and had them on the backfoot for a very long time. They hardly threatened our goal. But I can be very proud of the team, we knew how important this game was and I think everybody that stepped onto the field can be proud that they gave everything. We wanted to go this route (World Cup) but unfortunately, it’s past now, we’re thinking already of the next game coming up. We are getting ready to prepare for that, we can’t cry over spilt milk at the moment, but I can be very proud, and I think the people back home can be very proud of the team’s performance,” said Dr Ellis.
“I think many people did not give us a chance but tonight we showed what we are capable of, tonight we showed what we can do. We started slowly in the tournament in getting our momentum but tonight was a game that could have gone either way, they got the two chances and they scored the goals. Their keeper made a fantastic save towards the end which would have taken the game into extra time. And this is what this team is all about, they never give up until the final whistle, we just ran out of minutes in the end because I felt that in the last 15 minutes they (Morocco) were tiring. I also want to congratulate Morocco for qualifying for the World Cup, but we are not out of it completely.”
