Banyana Banyana's Desiree Ellis urges players to rise to the occasion without Thembi Kgatlana at Wafcon
Banyana coach expects others to show up Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis expects others players to step up as the team heads to the Women's Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco without star forward Thembi Kgatlana. Photo: BackpagePix
Image: BackpagePix
Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis expects other players to step up in star forward Thembi Kgatlana’s absence at this year’s Women’ Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Banyana’s hopes of defending their continental title were dealt a blow when Kgatlana withdrew from the team, citing “personal reasons”.
Ellis’ team begin the defence of their title when they take on Ghana in Oudja in a Group C clash on July 7.
“If you look back at 2022, when it came to the later stages of the tournament, other players stepped up,” Ellis said when speaking to SABC Sport when addressing how the team will cope with one of their star players.
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"If you look over the year, we went to Senegal, and we had a different group. We played Denmark, and we had a different group. Thembi came in for Hilda [Magaia], and a few other players came in for England, but didn’t go to Jamaica with a lot of the senior players.
"We had a February camp with a lot of young players, you know, played Mali, we had a few players come in and then played Zambia and Botswana. We didn’t have some players come in.
"So, there have been moments where we’ve looked at other players and given other players an opportunity. And yes, it’s not disappointing, but it’s a moment where we don’t have Thembi, but we’ve shown that we’re not a team that relies on one individual.
"When you look at our goal scorers, it’s a different goal scorer, and it’s another opportunity for someone else to step up again."
IOL Sport