Ellis satisfied after resting Banyana regulars in draw with Senegal

Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis was satisfied after she gave time to fewer regulars during their 1-1 draw with Senegal in their international friendly at Stade Lat Dior in Thies, on Saturday.

Banyana will face Senegal again tomorrow (7pm) with these matches forming part of their preparations for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco later this year.

Despite earning a draw after Nthabiseng Majiya had given Banyana a lead in the second half before they conceded a penalty through Mbayang Saw in stoppage time, Ellis was happy with the performance of the players.

“We were completely in control. We knew what Senegal were going to do. We knew they were going to play the long balls and we dealt well with that,” Ellis explained to the media after the match.

“We had a few opportunities and then we took the lead but were very proud of the players because, from the last match against Nigeria, we only brought 12 players from the starting lineup and only six from those who played against Nigeria.

“So, players that don’t usually get game time, we gave them that because we wanted to make sure we tested them. We knew it was going to be physical and because we were short, we wanted to play the ball around.

“And I think we had a very good game of football. Unfortunately, we conceded right at the end and I don’t think it was a penalty.”

As they prepare to face Senegal again on Tuesday, Ellis said she will continue to give other players a chance to see what they can offer to the national team.

“We are going to play the same way. That’s our strength. We are not going to change the way we play because that’s the type of players that we have,” she said.

“We had one training session with the group because we had two overseas-based players coming in on the day we arrived. In SA, we had two training sessions, so it’s a new group and still getting to know the way we want to play."