Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis was elated with her side's performance as they secured an emphatic 7-0 victory away to Mozambique in an African Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) first-leg qualifier on Wednesday.
Melinda Kgadiete, Linda Motlhalo and Gabriela Salgado gave South Africa a 3-0 lead in the first half.
READ | Banyana Banyana thrash Mozambique in 7-0 AWCON qualifier
However, captain Janine Van Wyk and Noxolo Cesane added their names to the scoresheet in the second stanza, while Salgado and Motlhalo completed their brace before the final whistle.
"Look, this was an important game for us if you want to go to Afcon. This is where it starts," Ellis said after the match.
"We did not have a lot of time to prepare, though, because we only came to camp on 18 October, and some of our players only arrived last night.
"They travelled 20 hours or so, and we needed to take care of them."
Ellis added: We kept saying let's move the ball around, and that is the type of football we wanted to play, but when you are fatigued, your mind can't think.
"However, I think it was a professional performance, and we made sure we won't concede. We knew we will create chances.
"I think we hit the post about five or six times, but the goals we scored were well worked. Our running off the ball, our passing was really good.
"We are happy with the result, and that is the important thing to get a result away from home that when you go back home that you don't put a lot of pressure on yourself. I think the team did magnificently."
Mozambique will now travel to South Africa for the return leg on Tuesday, 26 October, at Dobsonville Stadium.
The AWCON tournament will take place in July and August 2022 in Morocco.
