Desiree Ellis: Banyana Banyana were really tested

After going into the break goalless, the wheels came off in the second half as the hosts upped the tempo to register an impressive victory, with goals coming in quick succession. 

With key figures Thembi Kgatlana, Hildah Magaia, Linda Motlhalo and Sinoxolo Cesane all absent, Ellis used mainly locally-based players, barring Lithuania-based Thubelihle Shamase, in the starting line-up.

"For many of them, having not played against teams of this calibre, we needed to test them and see, do we take them with on the journey, and I think a lot of them raised their hands, which makes it very difficult for us," said Ellis.

"Playing against a top team like Denmark, we said we're coming here to play number 12 and number two [England] in the world, and this was certainly a test for us, especially for the group of players with mostly local players.

"It was a good test for us because the Hollywoodbets [Super League] has shown that it has improved, but it still needs to improve [more] to help us as well.

"Having not played for five months definitely showed towards the end, because you've got to stay concentrated for the full 90 [minutes], and unfortunately we couldn't."

Ellis believes her charges panicked when the goals started coming in and they could not replicate the first half performance.

"When we got the ball, we panicked a bit, but there were times when we passed the ball around, created openings to try and go forward, but our final pass was just not there," she added.

"Because I felt that we rushed it a little bit, instead of staying calmer, but they are very physical and that was something we spoke about [before the game], so you could see we need to beef up a little bit.

"But I'm thankful for the effort that the players put in, and while it's not the result we wanted, they showed their quality in the end."

Banyana Banyana will now shift their focus to England whom they meet on Tuesday in Coventry City, where the quartet will rejoin the team.