South Africa secured their place in the third round of the qualifiers with a commanding 7-0 aggregate victory over Madagascar, following a 3-0 win in the second leg at the Free State Stadium on Tuesday night.
Second-half substitute Ronnel Donnelly continued her impressive scoring form, netting a brace to take her tally to five goals across the two matches after scoring a hat-trick in the first leg. Gabriela Moodaly-Salgado opened the scoring shortly after the restart, breaking the deadlock following a goalless first half.
Playing in front of a vocal crowd in Bloemfontein, Banyana Banyana made six changes to their starting line-up, with Thembi Kgatlana captaining the side. The team finished the two-legged tie with seven goals scored and none conceded.
Reflecting on the performance, Ellis was pleased with the result but acknowledged that her side could have been more clinical in front of goal.
“We made six changes, we are happy with the results and on to the next round, but still a lot of work to be done. We created chances but didn’t take them because we were not patient enough to get the goals. And when the first one went in, more were bound to follow, and that’s what happened. We could have scored more as the opportunities were there,” said Ellis.
The 2022 African champions will now face Angola in the third round of the Olympic qualifiers in February/March next year. Angola advanced after defeating Namibia 2-0 in the second leg, following a goalless draw in the first encounter.
While their immediate focus was on securing progression in the Olympic qualifiers, Banyana Banyana also used the two matches against Madagascar to prepare for next month’s FIFA World Cup play-offs in Rabat, Morocco.
Ellis believes the back-to-back victories, coupled with the team’s defensive resilience, will provide valuable momentum heading into the upcoming assignment.
“Winning gives you that confidence, keeping a clean sheet has the same effect as well, so these two wins were real morale boosters for us going into some very important games to give us that momentum. We know that we scored goals and we haven’t conceded, so it was a good exercise for us ahead of the FIFA World Cup play-offs which are around the corner,” added Ellis.
Banyana Banyana have been drawn against Chinese Taipei, Ecuador and Uzbekistan in the FIFA World Cup play-offs as they look to build on their momentum and strengthen their preparations for the challenges ahead.