Not all black and white against Zebras, warns national boss Baxter

BEWARE the man with nothing to lose! These words reverberated in Stuart Baxter’s head this week as he prepared Bafana Bafana for their second leg CHAN qualifier against Botswana scheduled for this afternoon (3pm) at Moruleng Stadium in Rustenburg.

Bafana look assured of progressing to the next stage of the continental championships for local- based players, having won the first leg 2-0 in Francistown.

But Baxter is not taking anything for granted, although his plans to overhaul his team would seem to suggest this is the case. “My father used to say to me, beware the man who has nothing to lose,” he said.

And Botswana, down 2-0 against a team they hardly ever beat, clearly qualify as ‘ the man with nothing to lose’. Baxter believes they will throw everything bar the proverbial kitchen sink at Bafana.

“We are going to have to get our game right. Botswana played one game against us where they were very physical, bordering on brutal, and they played the next game against us where they were very tactical. They wanted to keep the ball for long periods and really wanted to play – we had answers in both games, so I am hoping we have an answer in this one as well.”

Baxter was referring to their recent Cosafa Cup clash against the Zebras as well as last weekend’s first leg tie.

Which Botswana will pitch up this afternoon, Baxter has no idea.

What he knows for sure though is that his team will have to be on their toes and be able to take on whatever the opposition throws at them.

The fact that he will be using a largely changed team will make Bafana’s task all the more challenging.

“Just go back in time and say Botswana has never been an easy opponent, no matter what level we played,” Baxter stated. “In Cosafa we beat them and we also beat them now in the CHAN, and we did so because we played quite well, but this won’t be an easy game. We are rotating our squad, we are playing in a different way, the players are going to be challenged and if we don’t get our attitude right we could tread on a landmine.”

Step on that landmine and the chances for many in the squad to be a part of Bafana for the more serious matches, such as the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against the Cape Verde or the Africa Cup of Nations qualification clashes next year, will be up in smoke.

It is for this reason that captain Mario Booysen shares the coach’s sentiment about their having to take the match with the seriousness of a heart attack.

“The way the boys applied themselves in Botswana, the attitude was right. Now coming to this game again it’s all about the attitude, we really want to do well and go through to the next round,” said Booysen

Progression to the next stage, to be played next month, will see Bafana in all likelihood take on Zambia who are enjoying a 4-0 lead going into their second leg clash against Swaziland.

Baxter believes it is in such matches which are literally a no-contest, given the first leg result plus Bafana’s good record against Botswana, that a coach gets to see the players for who they really are.

But still, he’ll be aware of his father’s words ringing in his ears.

He is sure to make Bafana walk on to the pitch aware of the dangers Botswana pose.

STUART BAXTER