Banyana Banyana of South Africa coach, Desiree Ellis has hinted that it was only a matter of luck that helped Nigeria beat her team in the 11th Africa Women Cup of Nations final, as she said her side only lost due to lottery of penalties.
Although she went on too congratulate the Super Falcons for their AWCON 2018 victory on Saturday, Ellis stressed that South Africa finally came of age and footballllive.ng reports that she believes they have come to stay in bragging rights on the continent.
Ellis went on to congratulate her players for their battling efforts all through the competition in Ghana, where she said they gave their best in every match, and believes qualification for the 2019 FIFA Women World Cup is well deserved.
While also showering Ghana with accolades for a successful and top standard tournament, Ellis said she is very proud of her team, despite their final loss to the Falcons.
Ellis said: “I’ll like to say Congratulations to Nigeria. It was a fantastic match and we gave everything we had.
“When it comes to penalties it’s a lottery. You can practice and practice but on the day it is who has the nerves and they had the nerve.
“I’m very proud of our team, we gave everything we had throughout the tournament and I’m sure you know that we’re here to stay.
“We’re here to challenge and once again Nigeria goes home with the trophy so congratulations Nigeria.
“If I look at the tournament as a whole in terms of football it’s been a fantastic tournament with good football.
“There has been a lot of new countries, Mali came and showed their mettle.
“I must also mention that the Ghanaian people have been very welcoming, they’ve been fantastic.
“We we’re welcomed with open arms when we arrived so in that area they’ve really raised the level.”
