The fans gave Bafana energy, says coach
BAFANA Bafana’s 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign may be far from perfect, but coach Hugo Broos lauded his team’s impressive defence following their 1-0 victory against Ethiopia at FNB Stadium on Tuesday.
Bafana had made a decent start to the qualifiers, bagging four points in their first two matches thanks to a draw with Zimbabwe and a win against Ghana.
Ethiopia, though, were expected to be a different kettle of fish.
Bafana had failed beat the east Africans in their last two meetings, drawing at home and losing away.
But a new-look Bafana team beat Ethiopia 3-1 away from home on
Saturday.
That result sent them top of Group G with seven points. And they proved that the victory in Ethiopia was not a fluke, winning at home on Tuesday.
Bafana’s victory came in front of a handful of supporters. Following the relaxation of the Covid-19 restrictions last month, Safa allowed 2 000 fans into the stadium for the first time since the outbreak of Covid-19, 18 months ago.
“The fans. We really hope that for the next game against Zimbabwe, we can see even more fans because in games like this, when we are suffering, then you have the fans behind you, that gives you energy,” said Broos.
Broos conceded that his charges were not at their best on the day, especially in midfield.
“We had an awful trip last week to Ethiopia, but what the boys did there in Ethiopia in terms of character and mentality was fantastic.
“We tried it today also, but the trip was in the legs of the boys, and we saw it. We were not fresh,” he said.