Bafana Bafana will field another strong starting lineup in their second friendly international against Angola in East London tomorrow, but also try their best to give each player in their squad a run, said caretaker-coach Owen da Gama.
South Africa cruised past 80th-ranked Guinea-Bissau with a 3-1 win at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday in the first of two friendlies aimed as preparation for away and home World Cup qualifiers against Cape Verde Islands on August 28 and September 2.
There were impressive returns to the national team after extended self-enforced absences for Kamohelo Mokotjo and Kermit Erasmus.
Percy Tau made his first appearance for the senior team as a substitute – following his first two games for a fringe side that were eliminated by Angola in African Nations Championship (Chan) qualifiers in 2015 – and banged in a world-class strike within three minutes of his introduction.
Da Gama has indicated that the two teenagers in his squad – Phakamani Mahlambi and Luther Singh, who did not feature against Guinea-Bissau – will get a run against Angola.
The coach said Bafana need to keep a core of their strongest lineup at Buffalo City Stadium.
“I think that the first thing we will do is get word from the medical doctor as to the players’ injury status,” Da Gama said.
“But I think the whole idea is to give everybody a run, without really coming up with something totally new. There’s got to be some foundation to keep the team structure.
“That’s why you could see there was a mixture of the old team and something new. And it’s got to be that mixture again.
“I learnt this with the game against Mozambique. We put in 11 players who had never played together, and in the first half it was a shambles – they couldn’t string one pass together.
“So you need some structure in the team, and give other players a chance.”
Da Gama served as caretaker – fielding fringe players – in a 1-1 friendly draw against Mozambique in November.
That game followed four days after SA’s 2-1 World Cup qualifying win against Senegal in Polokwane, after which head coach Shakes Mashaba was suspended for disciplinary reasons. Mashaba was fired in December.
Da Gama’s starting lineup against Guinea-Bissau, qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations finals earlier this year in Gabon, showed six changes from the senior team fielded against Senegal.
The caretaker-coach’s squad for these two friendlies was roundly praised for having brought Mokotjo and Erasmus back from the cold, and the inclusion of young blood in Tau, Mahlambi, Singh and Lorenzo Gordinho.
Montepellier forward Keagan Dolly, the man-of-the-match on Saturday for a contribution characterised by laying on some defence-splitting passes, said he had been excited to see Da Gama’s squad.
“I’m glad we scored three goals. We missed a lot of opportunities. But I think with the way we played we enjoyed ourselves,” the ex-Mamelodi Sundowns star said.
“When the squad was announced I got excited just to see the names, and seeing the youngsters like Phakamani Mahlambi, Luther Singh and Percy Tau.
“And I’m just happy for Percy that he got to score on his debut. I think that our future in South African football is bright.”
The Angolan team is ranked number 147 in the world.
Bafana big guns for EL clash
South Africa cruised past 80th-ranked Guinea-Bissau with a 3-1 win at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday in the first of two friendlies aimed as preparation for away and home World Cup qualifiers against Cape Verde Islands on August 28 and September 2.
There were impressive returns to the national team after extended self-enforced absences for Kamohelo Mokotjo and Kermit Erasmus.
Percy Tau made his first appearance for the senior team as a substitute – following his first two games for a fringe side that were eliminated by Angola in African Nations Championship (Chan) qualifiers in 2015 – and banged in a world-class strike within three minutes of his introduction.
Da Gama has indicated that the two teenagers in his squad – Phakamani Mahlambi and Luther Singh, who did not feature against Guinea-Bissau – will get a run against Angola.
The coach said Bafana need to keep a core of their strongest lineup at Buffalo City Stadium.
“I think that the first thing we will do is get word from the medical doctor as to the players’ injury status,” Da Gama said.
“But I think the whole idea is to give everybody a run, without really coming up with something totally new. There’s got to be some foundation to keep the team structure.
“That’s why you could see there was a mixture of the old team and something new. And it’s got to be that mixture again.
“I learnt this with the game against Mozambique. We put in 11 players who had never played together, and in the first half it was a shambles – they couldn’t string one pass together.
“So you need some structure in the team, and give other players a chance.”
Da Gama served as caretaker – fielding fringe players – in a 1-1 friendly draw against Mozambique in November.
That game followed four days after SA’s 2-1 World Cup qualifying win against Senegal in Polokwane, after which head coach Shakes Mashaba was suspended for disciplinary reasons. Mashaba was fired in December.
Da Gama’s starting lineup against Guinea-Bissau, qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations finals earlier this year in Gabon, showed six changes from the senior team fielded against Senegal.
The caretaker-coach’s squad for these two friendlies was roundly praised for having brought Mokotjo and Erasmus back from the cold, and the inclusion of young blood in Tau, Mahlambi, Singh and Lorenzo Gordinho.
Montepellier forward Keagan Dolly, the man-of-the-match on Saturday for a contribution characterised by laying on some defence-splitting passes, said he had been excited to see Da Gama’s squad.
“I’m glad we scored three goals. We missed a lot of opportunities. But I think with the way we played we enjoyed ourselves,” the ex-Mamelodi Sundowns star said.
“When the squad was announced I got excited just to see the names, and seeing the youngsters like Phakamani Mahlambi, Luther Singh and Percy Tau.
“And I’m just happy for Percy that he got to score on his debut. I think that our future in South African football is bright.”
The Angolan team is ranked number 147 in the world.
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