Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis believes her charges should approach the second leg AWCON qualifier with caution, despite a 2-0 advantage over Algeria.
The two nations clash again on Wednesday, 23 February in Algeria, in a vital second leg.
With a 2-0 first leg advantage, Banyana Banyana are on the verge of qualifying for another AWCON tournament but coach Ellis said nothing should be taken for granted.
Ellis said the North Africans showed they were tactically astute and buoyed by the home supporters, things won’t be easy away from home for the visitors.
Banyana Banyana had their first training session since arrival in Algeria and coach Ellis was impressed by the players’ mental approach and general enthusiasm.
“The team has settled in very well, we had a loosening up session after a long travel, tiring hours of travel, but I’m impressed,” she said.
“It was encouraging to see the enthusiasm, we worked on a couple of things. I think our players from Europe will adapt better because where they are coming from, it’s this type of weather just going into spring. Some of them struggled a bit in the first leg and that is why we had to make the changes we made in the second half.
“We have to do better in our positional play. We gave the ball away a lot in the first game and normally that is one of our general strengths. We have to be more patient and not force play in our build ups,” she added.
“We have to make sure that whatever they throw at us, we are ready for the occasion and the training session we had was based on both those aspects of the game.
“We have to make sure we are compact and organized in the first twenty minutes because that will be key. The 2-0 scoreline dangerous and the next goal is a big goal and we have to make sure it is our goal to take the pressure off,” Ellis concluded.
The team had their final training session at 17h00pm (Algerian time) on Tuesday at the match venue ahead of Wednesday’s kick-off (18h00).
Photo 1 Caption: Banyana Banyana pictured in training ahead of their second leg AWCON Qualifier against Algeria on Wednesday, 23 February 2022. Photo: Banyana Banyana (Twitter)
With editing by gsport
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