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Banyana Banyana Coach, Ellis expresses disappointment over losing Olympics ticket to Nigeria

Posted : 12 April 2024

Banyana Banyana's head coach, Desiree Ellis, has expressed her disappointment after the African champions failed to secure qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.


Ellis’ side was held to a goalless draw by Nigeria in the second leg of their fourth-round tie at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria, on Tuesday night, with the nine-time African champions edging the contest 1-0 on aggregate.


"We knew that coming into this game, we needed to score. We also knew that we needed to score as early as possible because the longer the game went on, the more desperate we would become,” Ellis said.


“We didn’t start well. We changed the formation slightly because we needed to score, and we went with three up front. They got the chance early on, and that’s the only opportunity they got in the half.


“But we didn’t go forward as much as we wanted in the first half. We made a couple of changes in the second half and threw the kitchen sink at them. Unfortunately, that elusive goal didn’t go in.


“And for that, we are very disappointed. We also know the fans are disappointed, but I think we can be very proud of this team. They gave it their best shot.”


Desiree Ellis admitted that Banyana Banyana’s failure to qualify for the Olympics is a setback for women’s football in South Africa.


“It’s a big disappointment not just for us but for everyone involved in women’s football because we didn’t go in 2020, we were in a similar situation where we had so many chances to – but didn’t go to the next round.


“Likewise, we didn’t go to the Olympics because of this. It will take a while to recover from this, though,” said Ellis.


Banyana Banyana will now shift attention to the defense of their WAFCON title this summer.

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