Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis are relishing the chance to secure their first win in the Fifa Women’s World Cup when they take on Argentina in their next Group G encounter at the Dunedin Stadium on Friday.

The South African Women’s national team suffered heartbreak in their opening fixture after they went down 2-1 against Sweden in Wellington last Sunday.

Hildah Magaia opened the scoring for South Africa early in the second half but Fridolina Rolfo found the equaliser just after the hour mark before Amanda Ilestedt scored a 89th minute goal to hand Sweden the win and all three points

Ellis’ chargers will now shift their focus to their second Group G encounter when they face La Albiceleste at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand.

“We had a game plan and I thought it worked throughout, we were defensively very sound. We knew that they were going to be a challenge at set-pieces and I thought we handled that very well,” Ellis told Safa.net.

“Our transitions could have been a better. Our decisions in the final third, if that was better, we would be speaking a different result now.

“We have been working on all those things and as the game went on we tried to effect changes to make sure that we stand fast. Unfortunately, we conceded at a moment when we were in complete control and that put us back a bit. To concede right at the end is a bit cruel, but that is football.

“Even though we lost, we are very proud of the way we played. We might have not had the type of preparation we wanted, but the group of players showed resilience. They have shown bravery and courage, and through that we could have gotten a better result.”

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