Cape Town — Banyana Banyana have hauled in their big guns from European clubs to beef up the side for Friday's all-important Africa Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) first-leg qualifier against Algeria in Orlando, Johannesburg.
After taking a 3-0 pasting at the hands of Zambia in a friendly over the weekend, the confidence in Banyana's ranks would have taken a knock. However, the decorated internationals like Refiloe Jane (AC Milan, Italy), Thembi Kgatlana (Atletico Madrid, Spain) and Linda Motlhalo (Djurgardens IF, Sweden) have bolstered the ranks along with a few other overseas-based players.
As a result, Banyana will field a vastly different side on Friday and coach Desiree Ellis feels not too much must be read into the Zambian result.
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"Friendlies are used to give new players a chance and, in that way, we can add to the core squad," said Ellis, in a television interview on Tuesday.
"We last played a few months ago, and our domestic league ended some time ago.
"The Zambian domestic league is still in progress, so their players were in good shape coming into the match.
"We made mistakes and were punished, but we're pleased to have had that experience of playing against good opponents. It will help with our preparation for Friday.
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"On Friday, we will be a different team, and we will need a good start so that we will be on a sound footing for the return leg next week in Algiers. A clean sheet will be a good way to start."
Banyana is ranked third in Africa, six places above Algeria. The aggregate winner of this tie (home and away) will advance to the AWCON finals in Morocco in July.
Janine van Wyk, one of three Banyana captains in the squad, said the warm-up match against Zambia was an eye-opener.
“The result is not what we wanted for us to move forward with confidence," said Van Wyk.
"It was an eye-opener for all of us, knowing that we are not at the level we need to be at.
"We now know what we need to fix in terms of our errors. Overall, the team pushed but it just wasn’t our day at the office.
"In Zambia, the coach brought in a couple of new faces, and two made their debut. I think they did well, and the squad has grown stronger. Now it’s just a matter of finding the balance in the squad but it was good to play the friendly.”
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Meanwhile, reports from Algeria say the 23-member squad have been in camp since Monday and working out under national coach Radia Fertoul. The squad will fly out to South Africa on Wednesday.
Two key players, Armelle Khellas (ASPTT Albi, France) and striker Inès Boutaleb (FC Metz, France), were expected to join the squad on Tuesday.
Since Algeria's domestic is still in progress Fertoul has used the time to do recovery work since most of the players were in action over the weekend.
IOL Sport