How Mashaba and his men can tame Lions of Teranga
Itumeleng Khune One of coach Shakes Mashaba’s blunders at Afcon 2015 in Equatorial Guinea, where Bafana faced the Lions of Teranga in the group stages, was the surprise selection of Jackson Mabokgwane as the firstchoice goalkeeper, exposing his height disadvantage against a team made up of giants.
Mashaba sidelined Brilliant Khuzwayo and Darren Keet, who would have been ideal in a match where Senegal were obviously going to use their aerial strength.
Khune did not make the Afcon squad due to injury, but his return to the national team – in the words of Mashaba – is “a quarter of the battle won”. No doubt who should be starting between the sticks then.
Make them chase the ball In that same encounter more than a year-and-a-half ago, Bafana struck first through Oupa Manyisa in the 47th minute, having frustrated the Senegalese with their pace and nifty footwork in the middle of the park.
But Bafana soon tired and allowed the opposition to equalise, using their strength in the air, and the South Africans spent the rest of the match dealing with the onslaught.
Mashaba said this week that he would address his side’s mental state in the dying minutes of a crucial qualifier like tomorrow’s encounter.
The combination of Andile Jali and Hlompho Kekana is critical in keeping possession in midfield and finding pockets of space behind the Senegal defenders for Bafana strikers to score.
Sadio Mane He’s the man everyone’s been talking about as Senegal’s biggest threat.
Some have argued that the Liverpool striker, who has scored six goals in 10 English Premier League matches so far this season, is a completely different player when representing his country.
Mashaba should not listen to those comments, but rather urge his defenders to be alert when Mane is on the move – with or without the ball.
There are several other top players alongside the 24-yearold attacker, but his growth since the last time these two national sides met in a qualifier has been immense, and he is presently on a high.