We forced Nigeria to play nonsense – South Africa coach Desiree Ellis boasts

South Africa coach Desiree Ellis has said she and her girls forced Nigeria to play nonsense in their 2-1 Group C win on Monday.

Jermaine Seoposenwe and Hildah Magaia scored in the space of three minutes to hand South Africa two second-half goals with Rasheedat Ajibade scoring Nigeria’s consolation.

Asisat Oshoala was a passenger for the most part of the game as she was deprived of quality passes from the midfielder by the South Africans.

Nigeria went long for the most part of the game until late in the second half when Francisca Ordega was subbed in.

There was an obvious disconnect between the attackers; Toni Payne – Asisat Oshoala – Ifeoma Onumonu and the midfielders Rita Chikwelu – Halimatu Ayinde – Rasheedat Ajibade.

And coach Desiree Ellis during her post-match conference said they forced Nigeria to play anyhow on the day.

“We forced them to play long balls and we knew we can force them to make mistakes at the back which they did, the players deliver our plans.

“We have to focus, we are done with this game and we have to focus on our objectives for the tournament.”

This is the second time in the space of a year that South Africa will beat Nigeria – Bafana Bafana defeated Super Falcons in Lagos last year during the Aisha Buhari Invitational.

The head-to-head between Super Falcons and Bayana Bayana now stands at 14 games with Nigeria winning 7, South Africa winning 4 and both sharing the spoils 3 times.