BAFANA’S PROBLEMS RESURFACE

AS ALWAYS in South African football, when it matters, Bafana Bafana disappoint. So, instead of ensuring the route to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations tournament is an easy one, the team chose the difficult path after a goalless draw with Seychelles on Tuesday.

These same opponents were dispatched 6-0 in Johannesburg at the weekend. Again it was the inability to score goals that was their undoing. Too few players were prepared to find space and go the extra mile for the team.

■ But, let’s not forget the opposition. The South African football fraternity’s dismissive attitude towards an opponent is an issue.

After the 6-0 drubbing Seychelles got a lot tighter and Bafana never had the space to manoeuvre.

Also, Seychelles were more physical and Bafana are never comfortable when the opposition gets in their faces.

■ The conditions certainly played a role. The first half they were unable to cope with the surface. Based on the numerous scoring chances Bafana had in the second half, they should still have been able to cruise beyond Seychelles.

■ There was much enthusiasm that Bafana had embarked on a new dawn with the strike partnership of Percy Tau and Lebo Mothiba. But their efforts at goal proved to be just as innocuous on the day.

Tau worked his socks off and was always at the forefront of Bafana’s offensive moves, while Mothiba missed an absolute sitter in front of goal. But, despite this, I am still of the opinion that Tau and Mothiba are the future for Bafana. They certainly can’t be judged on that 90-minute goalless debacle.

■ And let’s please address the elephant in the room: dead-ball situations. For an international team, Bafana’s delivery of corners and free-kicks was embarrassing.

As a former professional, I can assure you that every single coach I had prioritised set-pieces because it’s a quick and easy route to a goal.

It’s something good coaches spend a lot of time on at training sessions.

To be brutally honest, Bafana’s performance in this regard points quite a few fingers of blame in the direction of coach Stuart Baxter.