First win relief for coach Fireworks on cards at u-17 challenge
Bafana victory a start but ‘a lot of work to be done’
BAFANA coach Gordon Igesund admits he has his work cut out for him following his first victory since taking over the national team. “I do acknowledge we have a lot of work to do. We are not going to be Barcelona in four days or two months. We will get closer to where we want to be,” Igesund said after his side beat Mozambique 2-0 at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday night.
Igesund was relieved to get the win under his belt and was eager to celebrate with the players after they had fought hard against Brazil four days earlier only to suffer a 1-0 defeat in Sao Paulo.
He suggested Bafana might have made heavy weather of their victory against the Mambas at Mbombela Stadium and said it would take some time for his squad to settle.
“Players were scared to make mistakes. It was a very young team out there, I think our average age was 24, and we will compete against teams with a higher average than ours in the Nations Cup,” he said.
Bafana played in patches and, according to Igesund, there were brilliant moments as well as the familiar concerns, including easily giving the ball away.
He is confident a lack of goals is no longer such a concern, even though more were expected against a second-string Mozambique team in Nelspruit.
“We haven’t got a magic wand to wave around and say this is how we are going to play. It’s a completely new style of football, but I can tell you that scoring goals is not going to be a problem for Bafana,” Igesund said.
“With a little bit more understanding, we will take our chances. For now, I’d like to celebrate our two goals. I don’t care about the opposition, whether they were good or not. What’s important for us is to try and win games.”
The coach made six substitutions on Tuesday night, most of which he decided on once Bernard Parker had scored his second goal of the match and guaranteed victory in the 87th minute.
Even though some – among them Katlego Mashego and Kgosi Ntlhe – did not make their maiden international appearances, Igesund said a winning feeling was the priority for Bafana.
“We needed that as a team once again. I couldn’t play everyone, but I am glad we got to train together and I was able to make my judgments about who is Bafana material.”
‘ Scoring goals is not going to be a problem for Bafana
AS the teams gear up for the annual Engen under-17 Knockout Challenge, hosted by Glenville Celtic next weekend, Shining Stars and African Chiefs will start the event as favourites to lift the title at the Gelvandale Sports Grounds.
The tournament is regarded as one of South Africa’s most prestigious youth soccer events, affording u-17 players across five regions – Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth – the opportunity to showcase their skills.
The Port Elizabeth tournament, from September 21-23, will be played by 16 teams, comprising sides which finished top of the Safa NMB’s Local Football Association’s leagues, with Kouga outfit Thornhill United as the guest team.
The two pre-tournament favourites, Motherwell Football Association log-leaders Stars and the Langa Rosedale Football Association’s champions Chiefs, have been pitted against each other in Group C in the first round. The game between these teams is expected to produce fireworks.
Defending champions Buffalo City Soccer Academy will not defend their title after they were unable to finish top of their league.
Tournament director Elroy Swart said both of the favourites had participated in the previous Knockout Challenge events.
“We expect electrifying games from all the groups as the competition will be keen,” he said.
He said registration would be completed by the weekend.
The opening day fixtures are: Group A: Swallows v Camper United, Thornhill United v Glenville Celtic Group B: PE Callies v Victoria Park High, Young Callies v Blackpool United Group C: Newell High v Hotspurs, African Chiefs v Shining Stars Group D: Ebenezer v Windvogel All Stars, Bush Bucks v Fairview Rovers The round-two fixtures are: Group A: Swallows v Glenville Celtic, Thornhill United v Camper United Group B: PE Callies v Blackpool United, Young Callies v Victoria Park High Group C: Newell High v Shining Stars, African Chiefs v Hotspurs Group D: Ebenezer v Fairview Rovers, Bush Bucks v Windvogel All Stars