Baxter’s faith in fresh faces

Stuart Baxter has promised to throw more youngsters into the international fray when Bafana Bafana take on host nation Zambia today in the final of the Four Nations tournament at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola (kick off 6pm).

Baxter already used Lebo Mothiba, Motjeka Madisha, Reeve Frosler and Phakamani Mahlambi in Wednesday’s semifinal penalty shootout win over Angola, and has said he will field a completely different starting eleven today as he tries to build as large a pool of players as possible to call on.

This means Maritzburg United midfielder Siphesihle Ndlovu, Ajax Cape Town goalkeeper Brendon Peterson, Orlando Pirates defender Innocent Maela and Kaizer Chiefs striker Ryan Moon (above) could all get the opportunity to show what they can do from the kick-off tonight.

“The emphasis has been on development. It would have been easy to panic at halftime (against Angola) and put in more experienced players, but we stayed true to what we wanted to do, and we got a result,” said Baxter.

“We have an opportunity now (against Zambia) to get four more younger players in and give them a long run. The result is the optimum but I will be happy if we get a good look at players and they get the benefit of international experience, and we have the feeling that the squad is deepening a bit.”

Baxter added that Bafana need to find the right balance between defending and attacking against Zambia, who reached this final by beating Zimbabwe on penalties.

“We don’t want to be trapped on the back foot because we don’t dare to play, and we don’t want to charge forward and be caught by a rapid counter from the Zambians … they will want to get players forward and if we play in the correct way, we will have an opportunity in transitions against them.”