Point to prove says bullish Bafana coach Ntseki ahead of crucial Afcon clash against Ghana
Bafana coach upbeat on beating Ghana and qualifying for Afcon
The last time Bafana Bafana beat Ghana in a competitive match was on February 6 2000 in an Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) quarterfinal in the heat of Kumasi, Ghana, when a 42nd-minute Siyabonga Nomvethe strike gave Trott Moloto’s team a 1-0 victory.
Eric Tinkler, a seasoned coach now in SA, got a red card early in the second half of that encounter for a second bookable offence against Kwame Ayew, the young brother of the great Abedi Pele, whose sons Jordan and Andre are part of the Ghanaian stars that have been tormenting SA in recent years.
Three Bafana coaches — Stuart Baxter, Shakes Mashaba and the current one, Molefi Ntseki — failed to follow Moloto and Clive Barker (Afcon 1996) in beating the Black Stars in official matches, with Ntseki’s team the latest victims in a 2-0 defeat in November 2019 in the opening fixture of the 2022 Afcon qualifiers in Group C.
Speaking to the Sunday Times on Friday, Ntseki boldly firmed up what he had said the previous day when announcing a Bafana squad to take on Ghana and Sudan in the last two 2022 Afcon qualifiers, insisting his team “will beat Ghana” at the FNB Stadium on March 25.
More about heart and hunger
Going into the last two qualifiers, Bafana are level with Ghana on nine points with the Sudanese posing the greatest threat as they have six points and are almost assured of victory away to minnows Sao Tome and Principe in their next match before they host Bafana in Khartoum on March 28.
Asked what makes him so confident when Ghana are not only rated eighth in Africa and 55th in the world (SA are languishing in 13th spot on the continent and 71st in the world), Ntseki said the game against Ghana will be more about heart and hunger than history.
Ghana counts Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace), Thomas Partey (Arsenal), Mohammed Kudus (Ajax Amsterdam), Mohammed Salisu (Southampton) and Andre Ayew (Swansea City) among their stars in Europe.
In contrast, Ntseki has in his squad to face Ghana and Sudan the likes of Percy Tau (Brighton), Keegan Dolly (Montpelier) and Bongani Zungu (Glasgow Rangers), who are game-starved because they’re deemed not good enough to start games for their respective clubs.
Yet the Bafana coach feels his charges can repeat what the likes of Nomvethe, Tinkler, Lucas Radebe, Mark Fish, Quinton Fortune, to mention a few, did to the Black Stars more than two decades ago when Bafana were still a force on the continent.
“I think it’s more of a mental issue,” Ntseki says of Bafana’s struggles against the West Africans.
“We played against Nigeria in Nigeria (June 10 2017 in a 2019 Afcon qualifier) with maybe 60% of the current team and we won (2-0).
“We played against Egypt (the 2019 Afcon) and we beat them (1-0). When you look at these countries, they’re ranked above us.
“It should be a matter of here and now because we’re also giving ourselves the confidence and belief, and we carry that kind of mentality and approach to these games. We’ll win and qualify for Afcon.”
But football needs more than confidence and belief.
Percy will be coming to prove a point, so is Bongani Molefi Ntseki
Bafana Bafana coach
Having players who are both mentally and physically fit for the big task, something that Moloto’s team had in abundance in the Afcon 2000 when Bafana were knocked out 2-0 by Nigeria in the semifinals, is what the current Bafana team lacks.
Players such as Tau and Dolly, who are part of Ntseki’s great hopes, will come into the camp lacking match fitness, but the Bafana coach still believes they can perform well against Ghana in a match Bafana have to win to avoid scrambling for a draw or victory in the last qualifier against Sudan.
“Percy will be coming to prove a point and so is Bongani and Dolly,” Ntseki insists. “They want to tell their clubs, through the performances they’ll give in the Bafana games, that they’re good enough to start matches.
“Match fitness-wise, yes they’re lacking and they may not be at the level of the Ghanaians who are playing regularly for their teams. But in terms of the hunger to play, they’re better placed to give us the result we want.”