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Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis says her side produced a much-improved performance against Angola to book their place in the COSAFA Women’s Championship semi-finals - with a group stage match still to play.
South Africa claimed a convincing 2-0 victory over a physical Angolan outfit, securing back-to-back wins as they continue their COSAFA Cup campaign.
Ellis praised the team’s intensity and impact, particularly in the second half, and said they will continue fine-tuning combinations ahead of their final group stage clash against Lesotho.
"I think we struggled a bit in the first half. We tried to put our foot on the ball and tried to play, but we had a lot of turnovers and we struggled to find certain players in our build up, but we rectified that in the second half.
"We expected a lot of wing play from them and I thought we managed that quite well. When we started playing, we looked really good. Although we are happy with the result, we are always looking for ways to improve performances whilst taking note of the fact that it is a new group of players and things don't happen immediately."
The 62-year-old mentor says the tournament has also provided a valuable platform to introduce young players and allow them to showcase their talent.
Ellis confirmed that another new face will be given an opportunity in the upcoming clash against Lesotho.
"We have to manage the well-being of the players because the first match was the first 90-minute game in a long time for the players so we obviously had to look at that. There's one player who is yet to make her debut for the national team, so she will probably get game time in the next game as well because we want to look at as many players as possible and play as many games as possible."
Ellis added that while the focus remains on integrating and assessing younger players ahead of the upcoming Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, the contribution of experienced campaigners has been equally vital in guiding the squad.
