Desiree Ellis hailed the performance of her players in Banyana Banyana’s 2-1 victory against Nigeria in their opening game at WAFCON 2022 but said they will now shift their focus to the next game.
Goals by Jermaine Seoposenwe and Hilda Magaia handed Banyana the important victory against the defending champions.
Ellis said it was always going to be key to win the first game, and commended her players for executing their plan to a tee.
“Look, as I said in the (pre-match) press conference, that the first game of the tournament is also always very important, and what made the game bigger was because we’re playing Nigeria,” Ellis said in the post-match presser.
“We knew we needed to get a good start, to give us the confidence, to give us the momentum.
“And I thought the players were magnificent, I felt that they executed the plan to the tee. Maybe in the first half, we could have played a lot more balls through, but we executed much better in the second half.
“But the win was very important. We said it’s going to be a big game, their coach spoke about a massive three points, and this is a massive three points because now it sets the tone for the rest of the tournament for us.
“And this game, like Linda said, we will concentrate on the next one, and the next one and take it day by day.”
