‘Wins will bring the fans,’ says Ndlovu
minenhle.mkhize@inl.co.za BAFANA Bafana marksman Dino Ndlovu believes positive results are the only way to bring back the masses to matches.
Bafana will square off against Paraguay in the Nelson Mandela challenge showdown at Moses Mabhida Stadium tonight at 7pm.
Local fans have refrained from attending Bafana matches of late, because of the national team’s poor results. They missed out in the World Cup in Russia this year and the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon in 2017, and now Bafana might also watch the Afcon from their couches next year if they suffer a defeat against Libya in March.
“We can’t complain about people not coming in to the stadium. The only thing that can bring people back is results,” Ndlovu said. “We need to win games. We have done well in the last few matches and they are coming back slowly but surely. The association gave away 35 000 ticket and only 28 000 came. Once we start winning games (on consistent basis) they will come back.”
Bafana have received a barrage of criticism in the past for doing well in friendly matches and crumbling when in matters the most in competitive games.
“Everyone is entitles to his opinion. We have played five Afcon qualifiers under Stuart Baxter and we haven’t lost. All these matches were competitive.
“All we have to do is the job on the pitch. We have done that. We are the only team in the group that is unbeaten,” he added.
Bafana still need one point to qualify for the Afcon next year in Cameroon but they can still miss out on the soccer spectacle should they suffer a defeat against Libya in their last match.
“It is an important game. Everyone knows we are not underpressure. Libya are the one’s who are under pressure.
“They need to go out and beat us. They are 10 times more under pressure than us. We will prepare much better we did when we drew at home. We will have more time for that game. We have four months to prepare for Libya,” Ndlovu explained.
Bafana have won the past three editions of the Mandela Challenge. They will be out to defend their honours when they lock horns with Paraguay. In the past years they have got the better of Egypt, Ivory Coast and Senegal.
The tournament didn’t place last year because of Bafana’s busy schedule for the World Cup qualifiers.
“Over the weekend we played against our rivals (Nigeria). I believe we could have done more. We were all over them. They came for the draw. That’s why they played with five defenders. They gave us so much respect. For now we don’t want to focus on the game against Libya. We have the game against Paraguay. It is a big game. We are celebrating the 100 years of Nelson Mandela’s legacy. That is our focus now,” Ndlovu elaborated.