Missed chances and Salgado's injury contribute to SA defeat, says Ellis
A late goal from Michelle Alozie demolished SA's hopes of defending their Wafcon title after going down 2-1 against the Super Falcons in Casablanca, Morocco, on Tuesday.
JVW midfielder Salgado, 27, suffered a nasty injury while trying to clear a corner kick in the 83rd minute.
It was an incident that left the Banyana players and bench traumatised.
'I think after that injury, it took us a while to get going again, and I think maybe that is the reason we conceded at the time we did,' Ellis said.
'I think from the reaction of the players, the injury looked very bad.
'I haven't received the medical report yet, but from the players, it looked really bad because we had to calm them down.
'We had to make sure that they stayed focused and it was very difficult after that moment.
'But big ups to Nigeria, they also kept going and good luck to them.
'When you have chances like we had, especially the one of Noxolo Cesane, whose goal [attempt] did not go over the line — I think that is heartbreaking for lack of a better word.'
In a statement posted on the Safa website, Safa chief medical officer Thulani Ngwenya said the extent of Salgado's injury was unknown at that stage and they would give an update once all the facts were known.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
4 hours ago
- IOL News
Desiree Ellis remains committed to Banyana Banyana despite Wafcon struggles
BANYANA Banyana legend Jermaine Seoposenwe with coach Desiree Ellis, played her last match for Banyana Banyana on Friday. | BackpagePix Banyana are set to finish fourth at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations finals which is set to conclude Sunday night after relinquishing their crown. Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis says she'll continue to 'trust the process' as her team turns over a new chapter after an underwhelming continental outing. After getting out of the group stage comfortably, they were not convincing in the knockout stage as they beat Senegal on penalties in the quarter–final and lost 2-1 to arch-rivals Nigeria in the semi-final. Banyana were not at their best in the third/fourth place play-offs either as they lost to Ghana 4-3 on penalties after the match ended 1-1 in regulation time Friday night. Their shortcomings in the crucial stages of the tournament somewhat hinted at the toll the team took prior to the tournament following another bonus row with Safa. Ellis said they were at the tournament to win it during her post-match press conference at Stade El Arbi Zaouli in Casablanca though. 'Everyone that goes to a tournament has the ambition of winning it - Nigeria have been the only country that has defended it, though they didn't at times,' Ellis said. 'Equatorial Guinea won it twice, but we didn't get there - but it was so, so close. I think what happened there (against Nigeria) took a lot out of the players. 'We knew that we were going to play in the play-offs match, but we unfortunately didn't do well today.' Banyana's shortcomings in Morocco have seen some members of the football fraternity call for Ellis to be released, citing that she's out of sorts. This is due to the fact that the team needs a new direction and strategy given that some key players have already called time on their international careers, while others are close to. Jermaine Seoposenwe retired from international football after Wafcon, saying she's taking care of her well-being, while Thembi Kgatlana withdrew from being considered for the event, citing personal reasons. Ellis, though, insists that she's still the right coach to usher Banyana to a new era having been the brains behind Banyana's first qualification for the World Cup in 2019 and triumph at Wafcon in 2022. 'I have been with the team since 2014 as an assistant, 2016 as an acting coach and 2018 as the head coach - so it's a process,' Ellis reflected. 'Unfortunately, the process is always to win. That is the thing with fans, they don't see the bigger picture. So, we trust the process. 'We are also a team in transition. We trust the process, but fans don't trust the process - all they want is results. 'They don't see what you are doing and how the team is evolving, they don't see those things. When you are in the national team, fans want results.'
TimesLIVE
12 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
'We'll dust ourselves off and move on,' says Banyana coach Ellis after Wafcon bronze medal match defeat to Ghana
Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis has graciously accepted her team's fate after they finished fourth at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) after a penalty shoot-out defeat to Ghana at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca on Friday night. The defending champions lost 4-3 on penalties against the Black Queens, a team Ellis' charges had defeated 2-0 in their opening Group C match earlier in July. Banyana looked to be cruising to yet another victory when they took the lead through Nonhlanhla Mthanti on the stroke of halftime but poor defending after the restart got Ghana back into the match after they equalised through Alice Kusi in the 68th minute. Ellis lamented her team's slow start and failure to control the game in the early stages as one of the reasons that gave the Ghanaians confidence, especially in the second half in which they cancelled Mthanti's goal. 'We started very slowly, got into the game and got a goal when we pressed,' Ellis explained after Friday's match.
The Citizen
14 hours ago
- The Citizen
No complaints from Ellis in Banyana defeat to Ghana
Banyana finished the tournament in fourth place after the loss to Ghana. Coach Desiree Ellis gave an honest assessment to Banyana Banyana's surprise loss to Ghana. This after Banyana went down 4-3 on penalties to the Black Queens in a CAF Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) third-place play-off match at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca, Morocco, on Friday night. ALSO READ: Ghana end Banyana's dream of winning a medal at WAFCON The game had to be decided on penalties after the teams were tied at 1-1 at the end of regulation time. 'We started very slowly, got into the game and got a goal when we pressed. But they came out guns blazing for most of the second half, especially that first 15 minutes. We couldn't get our foot on the ball to slow the game down, and to take control. They were just better than us in the second half and eventually going to penalties, we always knew that we had a chance. Unfortunately, we didn't win the penalty shootout this time around, so congratulations to Ghana. We live on, and we'll then start preparing for what's forward,' Ellis told SAFA media. 'I think some of the games took a lot out of us, but we always knew either getting to the final or getting to the third and 4th place playoff we still had another game. We had five substitutes really because we've also picked up some injuries along the way, but that's not an excuse. We just have to pick ourselves up, these things happen in football – you've got to give credit to the opponents, in most situations they were better than us and I not going to sugar-coat that, you've got to give credit where it's due,' added Ellis. Banyana to 'dust' themselves and move on Following their failure to defend their WAFCON title, Ellis says there is no time to cry over spilled milk. 'We dust ourselves off and move on. We can't look back too much, yes it wasn't a great campaign, but we got into the semifinals and came very close to getting to the final, so we'll just move on. Like every team that comes to a tournament, we had ambitions of winning it, but we didn't get there. Unfortunately, we didn't do well today,' commented Ellis. ALSO READ: Ngwenya sees Sithole-like recovery for injured Banyana star In the six matches that Banyana played in the WAFCON, they managed two wins in open play – defeating Ghana (2-0) and Mali (4-0). They drew against Tanzania (1-1), beat Senegal on penalties in the quarterfinals before going down 1-2 to Nigeria in the semi-finals.
