Having won their opening match against Uzbekistan at the Turkish Women’s Cup in Türkiye last Saturday, Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis knows what to expect when they face Slovenia in the second game on Tuesday.
Banyana face Slovenia, who beat Zambia 1-0 in their opening match last week, at the Emirhan Sport Complex in Antalya. This is the same venue where Banyana thrashed Uzbekistan 3-0 last Saturday.
“They are a physical side. They are also good on the ball. We saw that against Zambia. You got to move the ball quicker. But they do give the ball away a lot,” the 59-year-old Ellis said.
The Cape Town-born Ellis is unfazed by the Central Europeans’ physicality and has an answer to how they play.
“Technically, we are in good shape. Tactically as well we are getting better. We really look forward to the game. Different challenge to the one we had against Uzbekistan. Physicality, how we cope with that. How we work around that is gonna be very important,” Ellis said.
Meanwhile, the former Banyana captain has admitted that she might make a few changes to her team when they face the Slovenians.
“Look, we never make wholesale changes because we like to keep the core. But we want to look at other players. First, we want to win the game,” she said.
