South Africa’s Banyana Banyana head Coach, Desiree Ellis refused to throw in the towel, despite her team trailing Nigeria in the 2024 Olympics qualifiers.

In a tightly contested first-leg match in Abuja, Banyana Banyana suffered a 1-0 defeat in their quest to qualify for the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament in Paris.

The decisive moment came in the 43rd minute when Nigeria’s captain, Rasheedat Ajibade successfully converted a penalty kick, securing the only goal of the match.

While Nigeria pressed for more goals in the second half, they were thwarted by the exceptional performance of South Africa’s goalkeeper.

Following the match, Ellis expressed confidence in her team’s chances, stating: “Look I said before the game, it was going to be a tight game. We said that the result over two legs will be what matters.”

“We feel we’re still in the game, we created a couple of chances. A penalty decided the match but the tie is not over. I thought in the second half we raised our game a lot, created a few chances.”

However, Ellis voiced concerns about what she perceived as poor officiating during the match, suggesting that her team may have been disadvantaged by certain decisions.

Despite this, she commended her players for their resilience and pledged to regroup ahead of the decisive leg in Pretoria on Tuesday.

“We could have equalised and maybe won a penalty at the end. But I’m proud of the team. And we’ll take it back. To Pretoria.”

As both teams prepare for the final showdown, the battle for qualification to the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament remains wide open, with Nigeria determined to hold on to their lead and secure their spot in Paris Olympics.