The Struggle Continues
Upcoming clash with Libya will be a test, especially for strikers
Bafana vow to beat the curse of Moses Mabhida Stadium
● Percy Tau and Lebo Mothiba will get another opportunity to fine-tune their striking partnership for Bafana Bafana when the national team face Libya in an Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier in Durban on Saturday.
A test of what the Tau-Mothiba combination can deliver for Bafana did yield positive results in March when the duo played for the first time at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Zambia in a three-nation tournament that involved the hosts Zambia and Angola.
It was in that tournament that Mothiba, who this week became SA’s most expensive player with a record transfer of R136m to RC Strasbourg from Lille in France’s Ligue 1, earned his first two caps in the senior national team.
To mark his promotion to Bafana, the powerful 22-year-old striker scored two goals in two matches, helping Bafana win the tournament after they beat Angola 2-0 in the final.
Tau, who is on loan to Belgian second division side Royale Union Saint Gilloise after being sold by Mamelodi Sundowns for R50m to English Premiership side Brighton & Hove Albion, also scored in the final against Angola.
When qualification comes it will be a welcome guest
Stuart Baxter
Bafana coach on CAF chances
Afcon beckons
Talking about Bafana’s first encounter against the Libyans, Bafana coach Stuart Baxter emphasised the need to get their combinations right to ensure they remain in line to qualify for the Afcon tournament in Cameroon next year.
In the first qualifier away to Nigeria in June last year, Baxter managed to get the team’s rhythm right in what was the Briton’s first match after returning to the job.
Tau and Tokelo Rantie, who was signed by Cape Town City on Friday, combined well with the midfield to score the goals that gave Bafana their first-ever victory over Nigeria in a competitive match.
With Rantie not in the latest squad, what should encourage Baxter is the fact that Tau and Mothiba have had a chance to play together in Zambia.
The pair’s partnership is promising, but there is no doubt it will require more time and matches to fully come to fruition.
Other than looking for three points to keep Bafana at the top of Group E, Baxter will be hoping to improve the team’s not-so-cool record of the matches played at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
The nation remembers that it was at Moses Mabhida that Bafana’s hopes for qualifying for the 2018 Fifa World Cup crashed when Baxter’s team lost 2-1 to Cape Verde in September last year.
But with a potentially devastating attack involving Mothiba and Tau, who scored his first goal for Gilloise last weekend, Baxter hopes it won’t take the last match to confirm Bafana’s qualification for Cameroon.
“When qualification comes, it will be a welcome guest. We look to do it quickly because that will give us the opportunity to try and rotate some players,” said Baxter.
“I will process the Libya game first and then look for the next two or three matches to wrap it up.”
The game against Libya will be followed by back-to-back home and away ties against Seychelles on October 13 (home) and October 16 (away).
In trying to avoid the mistake they made in hosting Cape Verde in the Durban altitude that suited the Islanders, Baxter hinted that the Seychelles match is likely to be played in Gauteng — just as he wants the return leg against Nigeria, on November 17, to be played at the FNB Stadium.