Bafana: promising signs in Ghana
Brad Morgan
1 February 2008
Bafana Bafana bowed out of the African Cup of Nations after playing to a 1-1 draw with Senegal in the team's final group D clash in Ghana on Thursday. A goalless draw between Tunisia and Angola meant those two teams advanced to the knockout stages of the event.
The group D results also decided the quarterfinal fixtures, with top of the table Tunisia set to face Cameroon in the last eight, and Angola, the only southern African team to progress, up against defending champions Egypt. Hosts Ghana will face Nigeria and the Ivory Coast take on Guinea.
While South Africa are returning home early, the prognosis is not all doom and gloom, with a number of reasons for optimism about the country's national football team.
Tightly contested group
Group D was easily the most tightly contested group, with four of the six matches ending in draws; thus it was that one loss for Bafana Bafana was enough to see them
eliminated.
To start with the obvious, one loss and two draws is a far better result than the three defeats in three matches that the team managed at the 2006 tournament. Two years ago in Egypt, South Africa failed to score a single goal, while this time around Carlos Alberto Parreira's charges managed to score in every game.
Parreira stressed playing the ball on the ground, rather than in the air, and it resulted in some excellent passing by Bafana Bafana. However, he will recognise that the team's passing deep in the opposition's territory - from the 18-yard box in - needs some work.
Future focus
Clearly, focus needs to be placed on opening up opposition defences near the goalmouth, while the game against Tunisia, in which South Africa suffered three bad defensive slip-ups, showed that defensive organisation also needs attention.
The manner in which the team moved the ball between the two 18-yard areas, however, clearly showed
they have as much ability and talent as any of the countries they faced in group D.
Creating opportunities was not a problem for SA, but finishing, a shortcoming that seems as if it has existed forever, again let the side down. None of Parreira's first choice players found the back of the net during the tournament.
Katlego Mphela scored the only striker's goal, after coming onto the field as a substitute against Tunisia. Bafana's other two goals were netted by midfielder Elrio van Heerden, who was finally inserted into the starting line-up in SA's final match, to telling effect.
Van Heerden, of all the players in the squad, probably did the most to advance his case for a permanent place in the starting eleven. With Bafana's shortcomings up front, Parreira needs goals from midfield, much as Teko Modise has done in the PSL for Orlando Pirates and Surprise Moriri for Mamelodi Sundowns.
Attacking approach
The coach likes to play in
the style of his native country, Brazil, when on attack, with the team moving forward as a complete unit, including the outside halves providing width and crosses. Again, the willingness of the defenders to get involved in the offense is vital to the side's success.
One needs only to recall SA's Cup of Nations' winning team of 1996 and the attacking forays of Mark Fish from central defence to recognise how effective attack-minded defenders can be.
Clive Barker, SA's winning coach in 1996, speaking on East Coast Radio, said he liked the changes Parreira made for the final group game, with Benson Mhlongo left out of central defence, captain Aaron Mokoena moving to the back in his place, and Kagiso Dikgacoi replacing the Blackburn Rovers' star in midfield.
Van Heerden started on the right, with Siphiwe Tshabalala on the left and Moriri up front alongside the experienced Sibusiso Zuma.
The creative Steven Pienaar was, unfortunately, forced to miss the game with an
ankle injury.
Improved performance
Parreira's adjusted line-up produced an improved performance, said Barker, but it was a disappointing result because Bafana Bafana created a lot of chances, including Tshabalala hitting the post in time added on.
Van Heerden's form, he opined, was a big plus for South Africa.
If the two previous matches, at least, provided Parreira with answers about the abilities of certain players to perform at international level, then the Cup of Nations proved its worth for the 2010 Fifa World Cup hosts.
Heading into the finals in Ghana, Parreira had pointed out that only South Africa, as hosts, are guaranteed a place at the 2010 World Cup and, for this reason, his squad selection for the African Cup of Nations was the only one among the 16 finalists that was done with 2010 in mind. The team's performances should thus be measured with this in mind.
Thursday's
clash
Thursday night's clash against Senegal in Tamale resembled Bafana Bafana's opening game against Angola in many ways as Mokoena and company dominated the match, passing with more fluency than the opposition, but still came away with a 1-1 draw only.
The first clear opportunity of the contest went South Africa's way after Malick Ba stopped a weaving run by Zuma by upending the striker just outside the box. Nasief Morris tried his luck from the resulting free kick, but his shot was high and wide, not requiring goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul to take any action.
Shortly afterwards it appeared SA would be awarded a penalty when Van Heerden, after receiving a pass from Bryce Moon, went down under a challenge from Souleymane Diawara in the box, but referee Alex Kotey waved play on.
The lead
South Africa's disappointment didn't last long, however, as they took the lead only two minutes later. An excellent pass by Modise from
wide on the left picked out Van Heerden at the far post and he volleyed the ball with aplomb to put Bafana Bafana into the lead.
The match had settled into a battle between South Africa's silky skills and Senegal's more physical approach and it was South Africa who were enjoying the better results, with a Zuma effort bringing the best out of Coundoul at his near post.
With a little more than half-an-hour played, Bayal Sall was booked for a bad foul on Modise as the Teranga Lions tried to outmuscle Bafana Bafana in midfeld. It wasn't the first poor tackle by the Saint Etienne midfielder and he thoroughly deserved his yellow card.
Ten minutes before half-time, Senegal nearly equalised after a mix-up between Mokoena and Moon. A minute later, another defensive error cost South Africa a goal.
The equaliser
A failed overhead kick attempt at a clearance by Mokoena saw the ball fall kindly for Henri Camara and he made no mistake, beating
Josephs in the South African goal.
Just before half-time, the Senegalese picked up a second yellow card, again for a foul on Modise. This time around Malick Ba was the guilty party.
In the early going in the second half both Zuma and Tshabalala had shots blocked and Tshabalala was then booked for diving in the penalty area.
Bafana's slick passing continued to put Senegal under pressure, with Modise playing an increasingly prominent role. Unfortunately for SA, Tshabalala was struggling to find the target as he wasted a number of decent chances.
Save of the match
Twenty minutes into the half, Coundoul was called on to make a superb reflex save – the save of the match - denying Zuma from close range as South Africa kept pushing for a second goal.
Coach Parreira, in an effort to find that goal replaced Moriri with striker Lerato Chabangu. He responded by forcing a good save out of Coundoul with a long-distance
strike.
With time running out, Papa Waigo caused some flutters in South African stomachs when he headed just wide.
Due to a knee injury to SA goalkeeper Moneeb Josephs that had required lengthy treatment, seven minutes of additional time was added on.
During extra time, Tshabalala hit a post and Chabangu just missed getting onto the end of the rebound before the final chance of the match fell to Senegal's Babacar Gueye, who struck his shot over the crossbar.
Bottom line
Despite an encouraging performance overall by Bafana Bafana, the bottom line is South Africa exited the African Cup of Nations for a third successive time after the group stage.
Coach Parreira, having been afforded an opportunity to see his players in action in a major tournament, now has a little less than two-and-a-half years to turn Bafana Bafana's performances from promising into winning.
It took coach Jake White four years to turn around the
fortunes of the Springboks and lead them to Rugby World Cup glory. Lifting the Jules Rimet Trophy, to be honest, is not a reasonable expectation for Bafana Bafana, but a competitive and dangerous team come 2010 is something to aim for.
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