Banyana Banyana coach Des Ellis says there are many positives to take out of their heart-breaking 2-1 loss to Sweden in their 2023 Women’s World Cup Group G opener in Wellington on Sunday.
Banyana took the lead after halftime but could not hold on as Sweden scored twice in the final 25 minutes.
Ellis praised the performance of the side and says there is still much to play for ahead of their next meetings against Argentina on Friday and Italy on August 2.
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A difficult loss but we take the positives.
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Can you sum up the game for us?
We had a game plan and I thought it worked throughout. I thought we were defensively very sound, we knew they were going to be a challenge at set pieces. And I thought we handled that really well. Our transitions could have been better, with our decisions in the final third. If that was better, we could have been speaking about a different result. We've been working on all of those things and as the game went on, we tried to effect changes to make sure that we held fast. We knew they were going to overload the sides, we knew that they were going to bring in the crosses, we knew they were going to go with set-pieces. We knew all of those things. But we also knew that we could catch them in transition. And most times we got into good positions, but we didn't execute it properly. We made bad decisions where we had two v one and instead of going on your own, you could have passed to someone who was in a better position.
That late goal conceded must be a huge disappointment?
Unfortunately we conceded at a moment when we were in complete control. That put us back a bit and to concede right at the end, I think it was bit cruel. But that is football. I thought on this performance, even though it was a loss, we can be very proud of the way we played. We might not have had the preparation we wanted, but the group of players have shown resilience, they've shown bravery, they have shown courage and through that we could have got a better result. But other than that, I’m proud of the way we played. As I said, we had a game-plan and we knew what they (Sweden) were going to do. And they did exactly what we thought they were going to do. If we had taken our chances we could have had a different result.
Hildah Magaia came off after scoring her goal, how is she?
As she put the ball over the line, she collided with the back of the goalposts. She hit that with a hand and a knee. It's a bit tough, her coming off, but we have a good squad. She should be OK for the next game.
How are the players feeling?
They came off a bit disappointed because of the loss because we felt we could have got a better result. But the way we played, we are very proud of that. We knew we'd get chances on transition, and we scored. And that is that is one of our strengths. We have the speed up front, we have the skill within the midfield and defensively we were really good, and that is a big plus for us.
How do you compare this performance to your opener in 2019 when you lost 3-1 to Spain?
We've gotten more experience. When we came to the (2019) World Cup, all of us were newbies. Now we've got a little bit of experience where that is concerned. So we're really looking forward to the next games. I think the people back home that got up at 7am in the morning, they will be rejoicing in the street, even though we lost, because of the performance. I'm sure people definitely saw a bit different compared to 2019.
Do you still have belief you can make it out of this group?
The way the team played gives us a lot of confidence and momentum as well, knowing that we went toe-to-toe with the No 3 country in the world. We’re very positive for the next two matches. We're not underestimating those teams, but we know our capabilities. We know what we're good at. And we know what we need to do. I don't think it's all doom and gloom. If you look at the result, versus the performance, it's a completely different thing.