There have been many moments in Desiree Ellis' 10-year Banyana Banyana reign where her back has been against the wall, but none where the chips were down quite as badly as they are following Monday's 2-1 loss to Tanzania.
Banyana were frustrated through most of the first half of their Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) opener in Casablanca by a dogged Tanzania defence. Najiat Abbas pulled off several fine saves, though she looked vulnerable at times from aerial balls.
The Twiga Stars scored on the break through Diana Msewa 37 minutes in. Bambanani Mbane equalised in stoppage time. However, Hasnath Ubamba's winner with three minutes plus stoppage time to go in the second half came off the back of a period in which Tanzania genuinely appeared the more cohesive side against more illustrious opponents on paper.
Often in Ellis' tenure, Banyana have been the plucky underdogs who have punched above their weight. Some of the players who drove that success have retired without ready-made replacements, and the rest are not at the top of their game.
Navigating the change that is needed to revive Banyana's ailing WAFCON campaign, and bag a top four finish to secure FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, will be an unprecedented challenge even for a coach who has survived many.
Current players have generally been careful in the wording of their own critiques of team selection when they have touched on the topic at all. Former Banyana Banyana striker Portia Modise - an ex-teammate of Ellis - has been a more directly outspoken critic on several occasions.
Ellis has generally been able to let results do the talking and has led her team through comebacks from some poor ones before.
A 2019 defeat to Botswana on penalties saw them fail to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, but Banyana responded by winning WAFCON 2022 and progressing to the last 16 of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup even off the back of tensions between the squad and the South African Football Association.
Banyana's 2022 WAFCON triumph had even Ellis' fiercest critics singing her praises - but she achieved that with eight overseas-based players. Now, she has four, and the HollywoodBets Super League season began two months later than expected this year.
Banyana have blown hot and cold in recent months. June saw two matches against Japan - one ending in a disastrous 5-0 defeat and the other an impressive 1-0 win.
One constant in recent times has been a lack of penetration. Their goal against Japan came from a corner and recently retired Jermaine Seoposenwe's role in linking attacks has been sorely missed.
After years of injury struggles, Thembi Kgatlana appears not to be quite as explosive as she once was - although she still showed glimpses of her best self in the defeat to Tanzania.
A usually robust Banyana defence was all too easily picked apart by counter-attacks on Monday. Perhaps most importantly, at both ends of the pitch, the confidence from four years ago appeared totally shattered.
The magic of the moment from the 2022 triumph has faded, and Banyana are now forced to choose between trying to repeat what they did four years ago and putting a fresh generation to the test with the team already under pressure.
Forward/winger Nthabiseng Majiya, 22, is one young player who Ellis has put significant trust in over the last three games - but she has not been able to demonstrate that she is yet ready to fill Seoposenwe's shoes.
In all likelihood, there is no player in the current squad quite ready to step up to that task.
The top four teams at the WAFCON will qualify for the 2027 World Cup, with two additional teams from the losing quarter-finalist playoffs advancing to inter-confederation playoffs.
If Banyana suffer defeat to Ivory Coast on July 31, then any remaining potential roads to the tournament in Brazil would be extremely rocky at best.
If they are to go down, then Ellis must ensure that at the very least, South Africa go out with the same bravery and defiance that they showed in the first seven years of her tenure rather than allowing that to become a distant memory.