Broos laments issues upfront

Hugo Broos (above) again complained about South Africa’s problems in finding a reliable goalscorer, after Bafana Bafana were held to a 1-1 draw by European minnows Andorra in an international friendly on Thursday.

Bafana had enough chances to win the match, but were denied by some good goalkeeping from Josep Gomes in the Andorra goal and their own lacklustre finishing.

“It showed again that this is something that is a problem for South African football,” Broos told Safa media after the match.

“We don’t really have that goalscorer, the guy who gets one chance and scores. We had six or seven chances and only scored once, this is a game that we always win if we are more aggressive and have more quality in front of goal.”

Bafana are missing the likes of Lyle Foster, Lebo Mothiba and Evidence Makgopa for these two friendlies in Algeria – they play the Desert Foxes in Algiers on Tuesday. Khanyisa Mayo got a chance in Annaba but he failed to shine in a central striking role.

Sekhukhune United’s Elias Mokwana did perform well, scoring Bafana’s only goal, and providing a constant menace to the Andorra defence.

AmaZulu’s Mlondi Mbanjwa and Orlando Pirates’ Patrick Maswanganyi also played fairly well, though they didn’t make the most of the opportunities that came their way.

Mokwana, Mbanjwa and Maswanganyi were all making their Bafana debuts, and Broos felt some of his new players had raised their hands for consideration for the Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Nigeria and Zimbabwe in June.

“I am satisfied, not with the result, we tried to win, but I am satisfied with the performance. This is a totally new team and some players gave me much satisfaction. I think these are players we can count on for the games in June and at the end of the year,” said the Bafana head coach, who is expected to return to a more full-strength lineup against Algeria on Tuesday.

The Desert Foxes, who played Bolivia last night, have a new head coach, with Bosnian Valdimir Petkovic coming in after Djamel Belmadi was sacked following a disappointing Africa Cup of Nations, where the North Africans finished bottom of their group, with just two points from three matches.