SA is tired of Bafana’s ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ play

ONE minute we are told they can win the Africa Cup of Nations and the next they huff and puff against the Seychelles.

It’s time we accept that Bafana Bafana are average and nowhere near the continental powerhouse we have often claimed they are.

How do you explain them thrashing these part-time footballers 6-0 at FNB Stadium on Saturday, only to be held to an embarrassing goalless draw three days later?

Sure, the pitch was awful – not at all made for football – but if you are a giant in this game you should still get the job done, much like the Super Eagles of Nigeria did last month when they beat Seychelles 3-0 on that same artificial grass.

South Africans shouldn’t have to be victims of Bafana’s Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde personality. Another thing that is always called into question is their mentality. In as much as they deserved rest upon their arrival in Victoria for Tuesday night’s return leg of the Afcon qualifier, following a minimum four-hour flight, should they have been posting on their social media accounts? The players certainly gave the impression they were on holiday and that they had won the game long before it was played.

They suffered from the same distractions in Cape Verde, when they had to play those minnows in Praia first and then in Durban a few days later during the qualifiers for this year’s World Cup in Russia.

Bafana lost both matches 2-1, triggering an unforgettable backlash which very nearly cost coach Stuart Baxter his job.

The embarrassment in Seychelles may very well have been a fireable offence, but Bafana can still make it to Cameroon next year. With two matches remaining, against Nigeria on November 17 and Libya in March next year, South Africa need just three points to finish either top of Group E or as runners-up.

But are we setting ourselves up for yet another failure by believing they can pull this off?

Which Bafana will run out against Nigeria and Libya?

The answer has been eluding us for decades.