Ellis urges patience as Banyana Banyana plot route to World Cup

Desiree Ellis says Banyana Banyana must use the coming months to recover, improve and prepare properly for the Fifa World Cup intercontinental play-offs after keeping their qualification hopes alive by beating arch-rivals Nigeria.

South Africa will have to navigate two play-off stages, scheduled for November and February, after missing out on automatic qualification. Although some observers suggested the team should play the first phase as soon as next week to capitalise on their momentum, Ellis believes a period of rest and planning will be more beneficial.

The South Africa coach celebrated her side’s progress at a post-match news conference inside Prince Moulay Rachid Stadium, where Banyana Banyana’s victory over Nigeria secured their place in the next stage.

The result also eased the pressure on Ellis and her players following a difficult Wafcon campaign. South Africa were eliminated in the quarter-finals and subsequently failed to qualify directly for the global showpiece, leading to criticism of both the team’s performances and Ellis’ coaching.

Ellis said the squad needed time to regroup, while also acknowledging that she required a clearer understanding of some elements of the remaining play-off format.

“I think it’s [the play-off] at that time for a reason,” Ellis said. “It’s been a long, hard couple of weeks; everyone has taken a toll. So, it would be a good time to regroup again. We also have the qualifiers in October, and the league will restart.

“The next couple of months are going to help in how we plan and prepare. It’s not just about the October match. We have a match before that. We play Madagascar in the Olympic qualifiers, so we have to look at how we can strengthen the squad and work on a few things.

“Hopefully we’ll get enough time to work on a few things because as the tournament went we got better defensively, and on the ball. The final third needs a bit of work. Sometimes, we made the wrong decisions.”

One player Ellis hopes will benefit from the additional game time is Ronnel Donnelly. The 22-year-old went into Wafcon after a lengthy injury lay-off and had featured in only two matches for Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies in the HWSL.

Donnelly was criticised for appearing short of rhythm during the tournament, but Ellis believes the midfielder can regain her best form. She identified signs of progress as the competition developed, including Donnelly’s contribution to South Africa’s opening match against the Super Falcons.

“I think she can only develop more as a player,” Ellis said. “She’s a fantastic human being, and sometimes we have to calm her down. She’s very young, a fantastic human being, eager to learn and listen and do things.

“I think she can only develop. Her club will now go to the CAF Women’s Champions League qualifiers. So with more game time and a little bit of patience after her injury, we just hope that she’ll get better.”

South Africa will represent the continent alongside Ghana in the next phase. They will face Uzbekistan, Chinese Taipei, Ecuador and Papua New Guinea for two places in the final round later in the year.

If they progress, Banyana Banyana will enter a final qualification stage against two Concacaf teams, one team from UEFA and Venezuela. Three World Cup places will be available from that round.

Ellis said South Africa’s disappointing Wafcon campaign had been affected by arriving late in camp, a lack of time playing together and spending more time travelling than preparing as a group.

“We need more time. You can only work with a group of players, and get something out of them after getting more time,” Ellis said. “If we plan better going forward, we’ll be better. It’s going to require everything and anything from us.

“We need to make sure that we are ready. It’s a hard and long road. We just made sure that we got onto the next one, so we need to plan thoroughly. If we don’t plan properly, with the final coming in February, off-season, we need to be on top of our preparations.”

Mihlali Baleka is covering WAFCON in Morocco for IOL, courtesy of Banyana Banyana’s premier sponsor, Sasol.