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Bafana wins set stage for Ghana

Brad Morgan

Bafana Bafana wrapped up their preparations for the African Cup of Nations with a second successive win, defeating Botswana 2-1 in Durban on Wednesday evening, following a 2-0 victory over Mozambique on Sunday.

Wins do wonders for a team's confidence, but a cloud hung over South Africa's victory after SA skipper Aaron Mokoena was stretchered off the field with what appeared to be an ankle injury after a rugged challenge.

Thankfully for the team management, his injury doesn't appear to be as serious as it first appeared and he was expected back in training on Thursday evening.

Fernandez injury
It was the second injury blow to strike Bafana Bafana in a matter of days, with goalkeeper Rowen Fernandez forced to miss Wednesday's contest after hurting his left hand in Sunday's match against Mozambique. He has also been ruled of SA's Cup of Nations opener against Angola.

Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira stuck closely to the team that faced the Mozambiquans for the Botswana clash, replacing Fernandez with Moneeb Josephs and left-back Tshepo Masilela with Brett Evans. His selection is likely an indication of the team he will go with in Ghana.

While South Africa dominated the match, with Botswana adopting a defensive approach, the Zebras proved difficult to break down. The visitors, ranked 101 in the Fifa World Rankings, were on the back foot throughout the opening 45 minutes, but Bafana struggled to crack open their defence.

Chances
Sibusiso Zuma had an early chance to give SA the lead, but he shot straight at goalkeeper Modiri Marumo from a narrow angle. The Arminia Bielefeld star, who used to play his club football for African Wanderers in Durban, again found the goalie midway through the half.

Teko Modise followed up with a long-range effort that passed over the crossbar before Botswana's crossbar was struck, this time by Moemedi Moathloping, who nearly put his side behind with an own goal.

Zuma continued to press for the opener, but another shot passed just wide of the mark and Marumo denied him again.

Goal
With half-time only four minutes away, Bafana Bafana finally went in front, thanks to an own goal. Ajax Cape Town's Bryce Moon fired a shot at goal which deflected off Ernest Amos to give South Africa the lead at the break.

It didn't take Botswana long to respond. Less than 10 minutes into the second period they drew level when Dipsy Selolwane, who plys his trade for PSL club Jomo Cosmos, beat Josephs.

Not long afterwards Mokoena was injured in a rash challenge by Selolwane. Mokoena left the field on a stretcher, while Selolwane departed when the referee showed him a red card.

Despite letting Botswana back into the game, SA continued to dictate play but, as had been the case in a number of recent games, they struggled to convert their possession into clear-cut chances.

Winner
Finally, with nine minutes to go, Zuma gave South Africa a lead that they would not again concede. Substitute Lerato Chabangu made a run down the right before crossing for Zuma, who headed into the visitors' goal.

Botswana kept up their hard and sometimes wild tackling ways and they were again punished by the referee when he gave Boitumelo Mafoko his marching orders in the 90th minute after a bad two-footed tackle on Moon.

Bafana Bafana will arrive in Ghana on Saturday and the encouraging news on Mokoena's injury will come as a relief for coach Parreira. The team lacks experience in defence and a fit Mokoena will, at least, give SA an old hand at the back.

Defensive midfielder
In the two warm-up games, the Blackburn Rovers' defender was used as a defensive midfielder to telling effect and it seems likely Parreira will hand Mokoena that role at the Nations' Cup.

With the captain moving forward from central defence, South Africa will depend on Panathinaikos defender Nasief Morris to control the back four.

Parreira, Brazil's 1994 World Cup winning coach, has taken a calculated risk by leaving Mokoena's Blackburn teammate, Benni McCarthy, Bafana's all-time leading goal scorer, out of the South African squad but, in Zuma, he has included an experienced forward who is able to challenge defenders one-on-one.

With Arminia Bielefeld goalkeeper Fernandez set to miss South Africa's opening match against Angola on 23 January, Parreira, if he sticks to the team that beat Botswana, will put out a line-up that includes only four overseas-based players: Morris, Mokoena, Zuma, and midfielder Steven Pienaar.

Team composition
After sticking with a team made up mostly of overseas-based players until the announcement of the African Cup of Nations squad, Parreira has opted for a greater number of local players. Fifteen SA-based players are in the 23-man squad, along with eight players from overseas, while the starting team that faced Botswana was split seven-four in favour of local players.

If anything, though, the Brazilian went with players who showed form in the lead-up to the announcement of the squad, opting to omit big name players and include those who showed up well on the field. After all, Bafana Bafana, time after time, performed better with teams loaded with local players as opposed to the overseas-based selections.

Even so, the PSL has hardly given Parreira easy pointers about who to choose and who to leave out; consider that the "big three" – Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs, and Mamelodi Sundowns – currently lie seventh, eleventh, and twelfth respectively in 16-team league. So, no help from the clubs that traditionally dominate the PSL.

Selection risk
No doubt, there is an element of risk in his squad selection, but Parreira, more than any other coach of an African Cup of Nations finals qualifier, has chosen a group of players with an eye cast towards the 2010 Fifa World Cup which South Africa will be contesting as hosts of the event.

The most recent Fifa World Rankings reflect a challenge that should become progressively more difficult for Bafana Bafana in Group D at the African Cup of Nations.

SA, ranked 78th, play Angola, ranked 72nd, in their first match in Tamale on 23 January. Then, they face Tunisia, ranked 46th, on 27 January, also in Tamala. Bafana's final group game is against Senegal, ranked 40th, on 31 January in Kumasi.

2006 disaster
Two years ago, the Nations' Cup was a disaster for South Africa. The team was eliminated from the competition in the group phases after finishing bottom of Group C. Not only did SA lose all three matches, but the side failed to net a single goal, going down 2-0 to Guinea, 2-0 to Tunisia, and 1-0 to Zambia.

Not only will South African fans demand a better showing this time around, they will want to witness performances that give them hope for the 2010 Fifa World Cup. They will want proof that the team's high-profile coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira, is engineering a turn-around that will see SA become a threat to beat any team on any given day.

Ghana awaits.

Bafana Bafana squad

Goalkeepers