Desiree Ellis - This team is resilient

The South African women’s national team overturned a two-goal deficit to rescue a point against a determined West African side at the Moulay Rachid Stadium in Casablanca on Friday night.

Ellis says that despite her team’s slow start, she is pleased they maintained their fighting spirit until the final whistle.

"Look we didn't have a good first half, we said we had to get on the front foot and find the spaces, but we just didn't play the way we wanted to. They were very smart in the way they defended, but I thought we could've done better in the transition. It was also really disappointing to conceded two soft goals in that first half, but that second half oh my goodness that fighting spirit was special. Even though we weren't playing well we fought back and that really shows the resilience of this team. This result has given us a little bit of hope and momentum."

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Ellis admitted that Cote d’Ivoire were the better side in the first half but believes Banyana’s fighting spirit was and will be crucial to their campaign. 

She says the intensity and quality her team showed after the break is the standard they must set from the opening whistle in future matches.

The 63-year-old mentor is also delighted to see experienced forwards Thembi Kgatlana and Hildah Magaia open their accounts at this year’s WAFCON. Ellis hopes the goals will boost their confidence and provide momentum heading into the team’s remaining fixtures.

"Thembi was energetic and that strike proves her quality once again, and when we made the substitutions we changed the way we play, that then led to the knock down and the flick on that allowed Hildah to score, and now that both of them got on the scoresheet I hope we can get more goals from them."