Ellis elated with opening WAFCON win, Bjorkegren concerned
Making history continues to look good on Dr Desiree Ellis, the head coach of South Africa’s national team following her side’s convincing 2-0 victory over Ghana in their opening Group C fixture at the ongoing TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) 2024 in Oujda, Morocco.
A punch in the air for Ellis when center referee Bouchra Karboubi blew the final whistle, high fives with her assistant Thinasonke Mbuli, the rest of the staff on the bench and the players on the pitch depicted the mood in the Banyana Banyana camp.
Three points in the bag against a strong Ghana outfit that created problems for them in the first 15 minutes but most importantly, an early message of intent to their fans and opposition alike.
“We stuck to the game plan really well. If you look at the chances, it was probably even. Andile [Dlamini] made a couple of saves, they hit the crossbar. We could have gone 3-0 up and when Linda [Motlhalo] got a chance, we could have gone 4-0 up. We are happy with the result,” Ellis says with a joyous but serious face in reflection.
Under Ellis, South Africa have now gone 12 WAFCON matches without losing in open play thanks to 10 wins and two draws. This particular win changes the status quo between the two teams and tilts the odds to favour South Africa in more ways than one.
New records, new chapters
Monday’s game was the eighth time that South Africa was facing off against Ghana – the most matchups between two teams in the 13-edition history of the continental showpiece.
It was the third time that they were meeting in an opening fixture with Ghana winning twice; 4-0 in both teams’ first ever WAFCON encounter in 1998 as well as at the 2004 edition hosted by South Africa; a 3-0 victory for the Black Queens – marking the only time a host nation has lost on the opening day of the competition.
“We can still improve on our performance because if you look at the first 15 minutes, they came at us. We could not get out of the press. We fixed a few things and then Linda [Motlhalo] started getting onto the ball. I call her my magician. Jermaine [Seoposenwe], she just showed quality. Our backline was solid. Andile [Dlamini] in goal kept a clean sheet. I don’t think many have seen [Lebohang] Ramalepe play as a winger but today I felt that she did well. Noxolo [Cesane] usually plays on the other side but she too did well,” Ellis continues as if lost for choice on who to praise within her side.
South Africa are now unbeaten in their last seven WAFCON group games (W6, D1) and this win means that it is the first time that the Banyana Banyana scored more than one goal against the Black Queens of Ghana in the competition.
Crossbars and what ifs
Of missed chances, a comeback that is noteworthy and a rather decent statistics compilation that can be used as a foundation going forward. Ghana head coach Kim Lars Björkegren stood in the hallway just outside his team’s dressing room after speaking to the press in the post-match press conference in reflective mode to take in his first ever WAFCON appearance.
Handed the reigns in January this year, the Swedish tactician has spent the last six months instilling his philosophy towards a team that is young, vibrant and love to express themselves. Like all Ghanaian teams, the Black Queens carry with them an aura of self-belief, a mojo that speaks to confidence and a yearning to excel.
This guided them in the opening minutes of the game against the defending champions South Africa in their first ever WAFCON fixture since hosting the competition in 2018 when they did not make it past the group stages.
“I am a little bit disappointed with the result of the game. We played very well. We created enough chances to score a couple of goals. We had 13 shots in the game. I think we were the better team in the first 30 minutes and just parts of the second half. We need to be a little cleaner and clinical inside the box because they scored and we didn’t. That’s what football is about. Otherwise, I think that the other things, we did them very well. We hit the post a couple of times and she [Andile Dlamini] made a couple of saves,” Björkegren reflects.
The evergreen duo of Evelyn Badu and veteran Alice Kusi hit the crossbar – chances that could have changed the rhythm of the game had the ball found its way past Dlamini.
In terms of Motlhalo’s penalty in the 28th minute changing the course of the game, Björkegren feels that, “Yes and no to the penalty taking us off balance because they scored again after that. I felt that we came back after that. We came back in the second half, we created a lot of chances and could have come back in the game but it is what it is.”
The Black Queens had five shots on target – one more than South Africa, enjoyed 45% of the ball possession and had four corners – three more than South Africa. It is these details that Björkegren feels they will need to improve going forward in the tournament.
Ghana will take on Mali in a West African derby on Friday at the Berkane Stadium at 5:00pm (local time) in their second Group C tie hoping to get their first points at the WAFCON 2024.