South Africa coach Desiree Ellis has warned the Super Falcons that there is all to play for in the second leg of their 2024 Olympics qualifiers despite the Banyana Banyana’s 1-0 loss on Friday, Soccernet.ng reports.
Nigeria welcomed South Africa to the Moshood Abiola Stadium on Friday for the first leg of their Paris 2024 Olympic qualifiers. The game held a high level of significance, as aside from the Olympics ticket, both teams have a big rivalry.
However, the Super Falcons put up a very strong performance to win the game 1-0, thanks to a goal from Rasheedat Ajibade. The win gives Nigeria a cushion and eases the pressure going into the second leg in South Africa next Tuesday.
Before the first leg, South Africa boss Ellis was quite confident in her team’s chances, and she still has the belief going into the second leg next week.
“Yesterday, we said that it was gonna be a tight game. We said that the game would be over two legs, and we feel we’re still in the game,” Ellis said, per Soccernet.ng.
“We created a couple of chances, a penalty decided the match, but the game is not over. I thought in the second half, we raised our game a lot, created a few chances, could have equalized, maybe could have gotten a penalty at the end. But I’m very proud of the team, and we will take it to Pretoria.”
Despite their one-goal advantage, the Super Falcons still have their hearts in their mouth going into the second leg. South Africa are very dangerous and with the home advantage, they would pose a significant threat. Nonetheless, the Super Falcons just have avoid to a defeat to seal the ticket.