Baxter backs Lebo, Percy
Their recent nemesis‚ Tokelo Rantie‚ might be missing from the current Bafana Bafana squad‚ but Nigeria will be introduced to the Lebo Mothiba and Percy Tau strike partnership in Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the FNB Stadium (3pm kickoff).
Bafana coach Stuart Baxter has said that if the Super Eagles do not know the Mothiba-Tau partnership yet‚ they will have a far better idea come 5pm.
Rantie‚ not called up for this squad as he has yet to earn game time at new club Cape Town City‚ has been Nigeria’s tormentor recently. He scored two goals as Bafana were 2-0 up in Uyo in November 2014.
Nigeria fought back to 2-2 but still never recovered from that result as SA qualified for Equatorial Guinea 2015 at their expense.
That result had put doubt in the minds of a Super Eagles used to an almost complete domination against SA.
In Uyo again in June 2017, Bafana won 2-0 for their first competitive victory against Nigeria at the start of the current Cameroon 2019 qualifiers‚ and Rantie scored the 54thminute opener.
The Nigerians had a glimpse of Tau‚ who came off the bench and scored the 81st-minute second.
They have not faced the exciting new partnership of now Belgian-based Tau and Mothiba‚ the big 22-year-old Strasbourg centre-forward who has seven goals in 13 games in Ligue 1 this season‚ and three strikes in his first four caps for Bafana.
Baxter was asked about the new partnership‚ which is still unknown to Nigeria.
“No‚ but it will be [known] after the 90 minutes of the weekend‚ I guarantee you‚” the coach said.
“Because he [Mothiba] is so fired up he nearly broke ‘Ace’ [defender Motjeka Madisha] in two.
“When they played the ball up to his chest‚ Ace tried to wrestle him and he just almost broke him in two and left him in a pile on the ground and ran off with the ball.
“So I’m sure that for Lebo it’s going to be me trying to calm him down before we go out and not letting him rip the door down and charge out like a raging bull.”
Tau has six goals in 15 games for Bafana.
A win for Nigeria or South Africa will clinch qualification for either team for Cameroon.
Meanwhile, Bafana goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune is determined to keep a clean sheet and his plan also could prevent the visitors from collecting the R360,000 incentive they have been offered for every goal they score at the 2010 World Cup venue.
A Nigerian politician got tongues wagging this week when he pledged US$25‚000 (R360‚000) for every time Nigeria find the back of the net on Saturday.
But Khune is determined to shut the back door as he is well aware that a clean sheet will go a long way towards qualifying for Cameroon.
A win for Baxter’s charges on Saturday would guarantee qualification to the continental showpiece, with a match to spare and in the process help soothe the pain of missing out on the 2017 tournament under Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba.
“It’s a good record [not to concede] for us as a team having kept four clean sheets [during the Nations Cup qualifiers]‚” Khune said. “We have been working hard as a team and we have been encouraging all the departments to play their parts and do well for the team.”
Khune‚ who is on the verge of making a record-breaking 91st appearance in a Bafana shirt in the match against the Super Eagles‚ shares the cleansheet feat with Dennis Onyango of Uganda‚ the only other African side that is yet to concede a goal in the qualifiers.
Khune said they would protect their record against a Nigerian side that will be minus injured top scorer Odion Ighalo. –