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TimesLIVE
2 days ago
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Ellis wary of fatigue ahead of Banyana semifinal clash against Nigeria
Having played 120 minutes against Senegal before winning their quarterfinal 4-1 on penalties on Saturday, Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis is concerned about fatigue. South Africa meet Nigeria in the Women's Africa Cup of Nations of Nations semifinals on Tuesday (6pm, SA time) at Stade Larbi Zaouli in Casablanca, Morocco. Banyana struggled to overcome the tough Lionesses of Terenga until penalties came to the rescue with goalkeeper Andile Dlamini saving two of them. The tough south-vs-west battle in Oujda had ended in a goalless draw after extra time. Nigeria thumped Zambia 5-0 in their quarterfinal on Friday. ๐ ๐๐ธ๐ฝโ๐โ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ โฝ๏ธ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: Bambanani Mbane converts and send Banyana Banyana to the semi-finals! ๐ฟ๐ฆ โ โ โ โ ๐ธ๐ณ โ โโ ๐จ LIVE ๐บ SABC 3 ๐ฑ #SABCSportFootball #TotalEnergiesWAFCON2024 โ SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) July 19, 2025 The semifinal between the two powerhouses of African women's football will be hugely anticipated after South Africa beat record 11-time winners Nigeria in the group stage of the 2022 Wafcon, also in Morocco, on the way to Banyana's first title. The 2-1 loss was the Super Falcons' first in the group stages in 20 years. Ellis is concerned her team night not have had enough time to recover for the matchup on Tuesday. 'We are not thinking about Nigeria right now, we will think about the next match tomorrow [on Sunday]. Let's celebrate what we have done,' Ellis said after Saturday's match. ๐ ๐๐ธ๐ฝโ๐โ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ โฝ๏ธ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: Andile Dlamini once again denies Senegal! ๐ฟ๐ฆ โ โ โ ๐ธ๐ณ โ โโ ๐จ LIVE ๐บ SABC 3 ๐ฑ #SABCSportFootball #TotalEnergiesWAFCON2024 โ SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) July 19, 2025 'We won't overthink anything because we want to celebrate what we have done. As a technical team, we are already standing on one side talking about how we are going to plan and how we are going to prepare because 120 minutes with a day less to prepare and a day to travel takes a lot [out of everyone].' Ellis praised Banyana's resilience against Senegal and hopes to see the same against Nigeria. 'We have been practising penalties and we knew who our kickers were going to be and that's why we made the changes we made. We always knew Andile could save one or two; she had done [that] before. 'This was our first penalty shoot-out victory in the Wafcon. We lost it in the 2006 and 2018 finals. I don't have enough words to describe this team โ the resilience, the courage, the never-say-die attitude and the willingness to fight for each other. 'No matter what they threw at us, we were able to withstand it.'
IOL News
3 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Ellis hails Banyana's grit after shootout triumph over Senegal
Andile Dlamini is mobbed by teammates after her two penalty saves sent Banyana Banyana into the WAFCON semi-finals. Photo: Backpagepix Image: Backpagepix Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis cut a calm but proud figure on Saturday night after guiding her team to the semi-finals of the CAF Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) following a 4-1 penalty shootout win over Senegal. It was a tense evening at the Honneur Stadium in Oujda, where the defending champions were made to work hard for their place in the final four. After a goalless 120 minutes of football, South Africa held their nerve in the shootout โ and Ellis was full of praise for how her side managed the pressure. 'I said the game was not going to be easy,' she reflected after the match. 'I said it was going to be a difficult game because of the group they were in and how they got out โ and we didn't expect anything less.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close โ Ad loading Banyana struggled to find their rhythm early on, something the coach acknowledged. 'The first 15 minutes we showed a bit of nerves, trying to get into the game,' Ellis said. 'But once we settled, we nullified the threat โ their two tall strikers.' Senegal's aerial presence and direct play posed problems, but Ellis was pleased with how her defence coped. 'We dealt very well with their long ball, but sometimes we gave the ball away too cheaply. Senegal have improved from the last time we played them โ their coach has done a fantastic job.' The turning point came in the penalty shootout, where goalkeeper Andile Dlamini made two crucial saves. ๐ ๐๐ธ๐ฝโ๐โ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ โฝ๏ธ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: Bambanani Mbane converts and send Banyana Banyana to the semi-finals! ๐ฟ๐ฆ โ โ โ โ ๐ธ๐ณ โ โโ ๐จ LIVE ๐บ SABC 3 ๐ฑ #TotalEnergiesWAFCON2024 โ SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) July 19, 2025 'We have been practising penalties, and we knew who our kickers were going to be โ that's why we made the changes we made. We always knew that Andile could save one or two โ she's done it before,' said Ellis. It was a historic moment for Banyana โ their first ever penalty shootout win in WAFCON history. 'This was our first penalty shootout victory at WAFCON โ we lost in 2006 and again in the 2018 final,' Ellis recalled. 'I don't have enough words to describe this team โ the resilience, the courage, the never-say-die attitude, the willingness to fight for each other. No matter what they threw at us, we were able to withstand it.' South Africa will now face old rivals Nigeria in the semi-finals on Tuesday in Casablanca โ a fixture steeped in continental history. But Ellis isn't looking too far ahead just yet. 'We are not thinking about Nigeria right now โ we'll think about the next match tomorrow. Let's celebrate what we have done,' she said. Banyana will now leave Oujda โ a city they have called home for the past 16 days โ and make their way to the Moroccan capital, where their title defence will face its sternest test yet. In the other semi-final, hosts Morocco will take on Ghana.
TimesLIVE
6 days ago
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Banyana peaking at the right time as Wafcon knockout stages loom
Banyana Banyana midfielder Gabriela Salgado says they are peaking at the right time at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) in Morocco, where they have a quarterfinal clash against Senegal on Saturday. South Africa started the tournament with a 2-0 win over Ghana where they played in patches and followed that with a disappointing 1-1 draw against Tanzania. They wrapped up the group stages with a convincing 4-0 victory over Mali that signalled Banyana's intent to defend their 2022 title. Coach Desiree Ellis's team meet unpredictable Senegal, who progressed to the knockout stage as one of the three best third-placed finishers, at Stade d'Honneur in Oujda (9pm SA time), where they played all three group games. Banyana Banyana defender Gabriela Salgado says they know what is at stake and will make sure that they stick to the game plan when they face Senegal in the WAFCON quarterfinal on Saturday. ๐น SAFA #SABCSportFootball โ SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) July 17, 2025 'We did have a bumpy start but its normal in a tournament. We came from our clubs and we have worked very hard to implement what the coach worked on at training,' Salgado said. 'Some days things didn't go according to plan but our hard work on the training field paid off. Things came together at the perfect time and we are ready for the remainder of the tournament. 'We know what is expected of us, we understand each other much better and we are going to give our best to progress to the next round. 'We are going to need each other and support from South Africans back home. We will go out there to give our best and hopefully get the result we want.' ๐ ๐๐ธ๐ฝโ๐โ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ โฝ๏ธ โผโโถโ: Ronnel Donnelly makes if four for Banyana Banyana! ๐ฟ๐ฆ 4โฃโ0โฃ ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐จ LIVE ๐บ SABC 3 ๐ฑ #SABCSportFootball #TotalEnergiesWAFCON2024 โ SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) July 14, 2025 Salgado said South Africa have a good idea of what to expect from Senegal, who lost two and won one of their group-stage matches. 'We have watched clips of their games because we do a lot of video sessions to analyse opposition, so we have a good game plan going into the mach. 'We have to go out there and stick to the plan. It is a crucial game. We have the country expecting us to do well and we also owe it to ourselves because we want to defend the title.' Salgado missed out on the last Wafcon due to injury and is happy to have made her tournament debut. 'It is an honour being here. It has not been an easy tournament because every team has come out to beat us but we have stood together and we are in the quarterfinal stage.'
The South African
09-07-2025
- Sport
- The South African
Orlando Pirates news: Midfield shake-up, young prospects excite
Orlando Pirates are reportedly evaluating their midfield options closely as transfer talks heat up. The Buccaneers' ambition to strengthen key areas has seen interest in young talent, while established players face uncertain futures. Thabo Moloisane remains a long-term target for Orlando Pirates, with the player himself acknowledging the interest. 'When you have interest, it shows you're doing well,' Moloisane told SABC Sport. His consistent performances have attracted attention from multiple clubs. Orlando Pirates aim to blend youth and experience in the midfield. With recent squad changes, the club is keen to bring in players who can make an immediate impact and grow with the team. Moloisane fits that mold perfectly. The Buccaneers' supporters are hopeful but cautious. The pressure to maintain competitiveness in the league is high, and the midfield's strength will be vital. Fans await official announcements as the transfer window edges closer to closing. Orlando Pirates know that strategic signings can define their season's success. Meanwhile, Relebohile Mofokeng's father, Sechaba, has seemingly urged his son to flock the PSL, saying, The 20-year-old could be out the door this offseason, a sentiment further ignited by his father, Sechaba. Orlando Pirates have already released four players. Image: Orlando Pirates media 'My biggest wish is to see Rele overseas in 2025/2026. I'm praying every day. I don't want to see him in the Betway Premiership again this season. I know God will answer my prayers.' '[Whether it's in] Spain, England, Netherlands, France, Denmark, Switzerland โ Rele can play. I believe that with all my heart. Take him to Barcelona? He can play. PSG? He can play. Any country. I'll be happy โ but not Saudi Arabia,' he added. 'Not yet. He's still young. He needs to compete in UEFA competitions. If he goes to Saudi now, he won't experience that. Yes, he'd be rich โ but happiness is more important. You can have all the money in the world, but if you're not happy, it's worthless.' Orlando Pirates are yet to comment on his future. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The South African
09-07-2025
- Sport
- The South African
REVEALED: Why Orlando Pirates will loan Saleng out AND extend his contract
Monnapule Saleng has reportedly extended his Orlando Pirates contract, but he'll be leaving the club on loan for 2025-2026. Why? 27-year-old winger Saleng hasn't featured for the club since December 2024. Pirates see this as an ideal opportunity for the talented star to get back into the groove of first-team football. Chiefs complete deal for R18 million valued ex-Pirates star Monnapule Saleng's exile from the first team at Pirates has been a puzzling issue. Now, with the arrival of Oswin Appollis and the continuing emergence of Mohau Nkota, his pathway to first-team football is blocked. The board is presumably protecting the player's future resale value, especially if he impresses while out on loan and attracts bids for his services. 'Chiefs will still finish ninth with their new signings' According to SABC Sport , Monnapule Saleng will move to Orbit College on loan for the 2025-2026 season. The 2022-2023 PSL Player of the Season has become a fringe figure at Pirates since that dazzling campaign over two years ago. 'SABC Sport has established that Orlando Pirates are in advanced discussions to loan out winger Monnapule Saleng to their Betway Premiership rivals. Talks are ongoing between the Soweto giants and newly promoted outfit Orbit College to help revive the player's career. To help him find his feet again, SABC Sport has been informed that Saleng is edging closer to a loan spell at Orbit College, who were promoted to the Premier Soccer League top-flight last month.' Let the 'Mayele to Kaizer Chiefs' nonsense be a lesson to us all Will the Chiefs slayer return to Pirates after a loan spell with Orbit? Image: @orlandopirates / X Let us know by leaving a comment below or sending a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Also, subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
