Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis has explained what her troops got right in the 2-1 win over 11-time African champions, Nigeria in their opening Women's Africa Cup of Nations Group C match in Rabat, Morocco, on Monday.
Ellis believes the credit should go to her players for executing the plan perfectly.
Banyana seemed a few levels higher than the Super Falcons, with Ellis stating that she was aware that they were not going to match Nigeria physically hence they played to their strengths: keeping the ball on the ground.
"The players were magnificent, they executed the plan to the T. Maybe in the first half we could have played a lot of balls through, but we executed much better second half," Ellis said in the post-match press conference after the game.
"We knew we couldn't physically match them, our strength was to put the ball on the ground and move the ball much quicker. It was slow in the first half, we didn't play through the channels. We controlled the tempo, I think the players moved the ball in the second half much better, our passing of the ball and switching was much better.
"We snuff out their long balls; we knew that if we press, they are going to make mistakes, and through that, that's how the goals came. They executed the plan very well, but the job is not done," added Ellis.
The Banyana coach also urged the players to guard against complacency after beating the tournament's favourites, insisting all their remaining encounters are important.
"This was a massive three points, we needed to get a good result to set the tone for the rest of the tournament. We are not going to underestimate any team, we've seen teams that are here," she added.
"We are going to make sure we prepare and plan well. Look, we're not going to underestimate any team. You see, the teams that are here, Tunisia beat Equatorial Guinea, and Senegal beat Mali."
Banyana will take on Burundi in their next game on Thursday 7 July.
