Sihlangu coach excuse unacceptable

... WITH ASHMOND NZIMA

)7(5 the rigmarole about the Sihlangu squad that has started prepara tions for next month¶s back to back Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Cape Verde, Head Coach Dominic Kunene has finally broken his silence.

For starters, there was no place for seasoned campaigners who include the tried and tested goal keepers in Khanyake]we Shabalala of Mbabane Highlanders and San dane]we Mathabela of Mbabane Swallows. On form *reen Mamba midfielder Mxolisi Mkhontfo was also snubbed alongside former Eswatini export and Swallows sharp shooter Felix Badenhorst, among others.

The list is endless. ,n a nutshell, the announced squad looks more like a school team than a side that will play Cape Verde in tough AF CON qualifiers.

Only two out of six games have been played so far, and Sihlangu are still in the race to the finals in ,vory Coast next year.

The need to assemble the best team possible in a bid to make the cut for the first time in history can not be overstated. Coach Kunene was quoted by this publication late

THE TENTATIVE SIHLANGU SQUAD:

Goalkeepers

Sibusiso Dlamini (Nsingizini Hotspurs FC), Mlamuli Makhanya (Royal Leopard FC), Mlungisi Nxumalo (Young Buffaloes FC), Bhekisisa Dlamini (Moneni Pirates FC)

Defenders

Simanga Masangane (Royal Leopards FC), Sihlangu Mkhwanazi (Young Buffaloes FC), Vusi Vilakati (Mbabane Highlanders FC), Gift Gamedze (Madlenya FC), Lucky Gamedze (Madlenya FC), Mcolisi Manana (Green Mamba FC), Mlamuli Msibi (Royal Leopard (FC), Mkhuleko Magagula (Manzini Sea Birds FC)

Midfielders

Mzwandile Mabelesa (Royal Leopard FC), Sifiso Matse (Royal Leopard FC), Kwakhe Tfwala (Young Buffaloes FC), Bongiswa Dlamini (Young Buffaloes FC), Sandile Gamedze (Young Buffaloes FC), Leon Manyisa (Mbabane Swallows FC), Mpendulo Tfomo (Mbabane Highlanders FC)

Strikers

Sabelo Ndzinisa (Green Mamba FC), Thubelihle Mavuso (Nsingizini Hotspurs FC), Bongwa Matsebula (Young Buffaloes FC), Fanelo Mamba (Young Buffaloes FC), Philani Mkhontfo (Mbabane Highlanders FC), Njabulo Maziya (Madlenya FC).

last week saying this was not the final squad.

³The squad is going to training and the national team has been made so that we can identify talent that we have not seen closer.

Watch

³, watch all the 3remier /eague games and players can¶t all be in cluded in the national team at once.

³The players all have different qualities and we have a wide pool of good players and some of them we already know how they play when on the international stage.

³:e wanted to give other players new opportunities so that they can prove themselves,´ the coach was quoted saying.

Based on the above, the coach was short of saying he was devel oping a squad for the future.

:e are not talking about the Council of Southern Africa Foot ball Associations (COSAFA) 8n der tournament but AFCON, which is the biggest stage on Afri can football.

*iving new and deserving players is not a problem but the biggest blunder for the technical bench is not having the seasoned players to be the core of the team.

Rough

,t is less than a month to the quali fiers, so by the end of February; the coach should have a rough sketch of the squad he will take to Cape

Verde for the first national team match of the year.

By ignoring the players in the first place, their confidence levels have already been butchered.

The more the players train with each other, the better their mutual understanding will be, and if a team knows everyone¶s strengths, weak nesses, preferences and habits, then they are more likely to perform consistently at a higher level.

Assuming that the final squad is announced days before the depar ture, a lot of time and resources would have already been wasted training players who will not make the cut. At this rate, it looks like the coach is conducting trials for players who want to try their luck at Sihlangu.

Other countries use tournaments like the COSAFA Cup to build a future squad.

Unexpected

This unexpected decision can fur ther ruin the relationship between the coach and the players.

Their daily interaction and coach can do wonders for a player; it will be much easier for them to perform when they have a clear understanding of their role, what is expected of them and how they fit into the team.

,t is not too late to correct the blunder. he coach should announce a full strength squad that will pre pare to play Cape Verde and wait for the COSAFA Cup and interna tional friendly matches to give his untested boys a chance.

One of the world¶s most well known African American poets, Nikki *iovanni, once wrote that, ³Mistakes are a fact of life. ,t is the response to error that counts.´

,t is never too late for the Sih langu technical bench to do the right thing.

(File pic) National team Sihlangu Coach Dominic Kunene and Assistant Anthony Mdluli.