After their first-leg defeat by the Super Falcons in Abuja on Friday, Bayana Bayana coach Desiree Ellis boasted that her team would exploit the Super Falcons’ loopholes in the second leg in Pretoria.
Speaking after the match to journalists at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Ellis said South Africa dominated part of the game and could have hurt the Super Falcons.
She noted that her team “didn’t move the ball as quickly as they wanted in the first half” and pointed out that “they also played far from each other,” hence the lack of chances in the first 45 minutes.
“We feel we are still in the game; we created a couple of chances. A penalty decided the match, but the tie is not over. I thought in the second half we raised our game a lot and created a few chances.
“We could have equalised and maybe won a penalty at the end. But I’m proud of the team. And we will take it back. To Pretoria.”
The reigning African champions managed the first leg encounter playing under difficult conditions after conceding from Captain Rasheedat Ajibade.
Bayana Bayana will now fancy their chances at the high altitude of Pretoria next Tuesday, according to Ellis.
“Obviously, we are going to have a look at the footage and see where we can exploit the Falcons in the second leg. Because I thought defensively, we were really sound.
“And up until that moment from the penalty, we created a couple of chances. We also had a lot of players coming back from injury.
“Not having played 90 minutes, I thought we got a lot out of them. So they are better in their legs now and will be better in the second leg. But as Tembi Kagtlana said, for us, it’s half time. We still have another half to go,” Ellis said.
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