Shakes hails Bafana performance
Shakes Mashaba praised the performance of his Bafana Bafana side after they drew 0-0 with African champions Nigeria in their 2015 Afcon qualifier in Cape Town on Wednesday.
The draw sees South Africa move into second in Group A with four points after two games. Congo-Brazzaville tops the group on six points with Nigeria in third after gaining their point against Bafana. Sudan are bottom of the group after their two losses.
While he was happy with the performance, Mashaba believed that his charges should have scored the late chance they had when Tokelo Rantie broke down the right flank 84th minute. His initial shot was saved by Nigerian 'keeper Austine Ejide but South Africa failed to put the loose ball in the back of the net, despite players literally lining up for the shot.
"It was a game of nerves. Chances were created on both sides. It went in stanzas - we had Nigeria getting the upper hand, we also came back then we had an upper hand. But, truly speaking, we should have sealed it in the last 10 minutes," Mashaba said.
"Unfortunately lady luck was not smiling for us, but there are still a couple of things we need to rectify in the team as well."
"We can be happy with this team that we've got positive results in our two opening matches. Anyone who asks more from what we got, I don’t know what that would be.
"We played one of the football superhouses - it’s not a pushover. Both teams took the game to each other.
"So we thank the Nigerians and appreciate the point they delivered. It will help us in the long run as we keep going on."
Mashaba also expressed his satisfaction with squad selections and said that he would not be changing the side too often.
"We would like to keep the faith in these guys. We don’t want to demoralise their spirit. But every player that can play qualifies to be in the team.
"If they’re doing well, why change it? If it's not broken, why fix it? The bulk of them have proven that they belong to this team."
South Africa plays Congo-Brazzaville home and next month in their next Afcon qualifiers.
The draw sees South Africa move into second in Group A with four points after two games. Congo-Brazzaville tops the group on six points with Nigeria in third after gaining their point against Bafana. Sudan are bottom of the group after their two losses.
While he was happy with the performance, Mashaba believed that his charges should have scored the late chance they had when Tokelo Rantie broke down the right flank 84th minute. His initial shot was saved by Nigerian 'keeper Austine Ejide but South Africa failed to put the loose ball in the back of the net, despite players literally lining up for the shot.
"It was a game of nerves. Chances were created on both sides. It went in stanzas - we had Nigeria getting the upper hand, we also came back then we had an upper hand. But, truly speaking, we should have sealed it in the last 10 minutes," Mashaba said.
"Unfortunately lady luck was not smiling for us, but there are still a couple of things we need to rectify in the team as well."
"We can be happy with this team that we've got positive results in our two opening matches. Anyone who asks more from what we got, I don’t know what that would be.
"We played one of the football superhouses - it’s not a pushover. Both teams took the game to each other.
"So we thank the Nigerians and appreciate the point they delivered. It will help us in the long run as we keep going on."
Mashaba also expressed his satisfaction with squad selections and said that he would not be changing the side too often.
"We would like to keep the faith in these guys. We don’t want to demoralise their spirit. But every player that can play qualifies to be in the team.
"If they’re doing well, why change it? If it's not broken, why fix it? The bulk of them have proven that they belong to this team."
South Africa plays Congo-Brazzaville home and next month in their next Afcon qualifiers.
Post a Comment