Bringing back Neil Tovey is the obvious answer to South Africa’s defensive problems, but it may not be the best solution
SOCCER: Andrew Muchineripi
THE person who coined the well-worn phrase that football is a funny game was actually being quite serious as anyone who watched South Africa defeat Zaire in the World Cup would testify.
It was to be the mother of all games, we were informed. All or nothing, death or glory. One waited for the cobwebs to be brushed off a scratched old 45 and a Winston Churchill speech to be relayed. With the teams playing for their World Cup lives, one anticipated a tight, tense, low- scoring affair at the Togolese sauna bath that went by the name of the Eyadema Stadium.
While only three scoring attempts did find the net, South Africa could just as easily have triumphed 5-3 such was the frequency with which both defences were split open in Lom.
The loud and prolonged cry from South African supporters before the match was for a more attacking approach, a fair enough request considering only one goal had been scored in the previous four matches. This plea also had its origins in the disastrous events that unfolded in the Congo, where a combination of naked intimidation, overly defensive tactics and a lack of commitment led to a humiliating two-goal loss.
Coach Clive Barker, whose strangely timed pre-match comment that he might quit after the qualifiers even if South Africa won Group 3, was probably a knee-jerk reaction to some ill-informed criticism after Pointe-Noire, satisfied his critics.
He returned to the 4-4-2 formation which brought the 1996 African Nations Cup to South Africa, and among the sacrificial lambs was long-serving captain and central defender Neil Tovey. Doctor Khumalo was back in midfield, and what an inspired move that proved as the man idolised by millions of South Africans emphasised that he had the skills to ensure that Bafana Bafana visit the Eiffel Tower next year.
Philemon Masinga was also back after one of the shortest retirements in international football history and his headed winner completed a fairytale many fair-minded supporters must have dreamt of.
So far, so good. Goals from Khumalo and Masinga taking South Africa to joint first place with Congo, who came down to earth with an almighty bang by losing 3-0 to Zambia at the Independence Stadium.
Serious football fans watching the Congolese Red Devils literally terrorise South Africa must have realised that here was a good team rather than a great one. The result in Lusaka confirmed this viewpoint.
But while it would be nice to dwell on the predatory nature and selfless toil of Masinga and the delicate ball skills of Khumalo (he turned a Zairean so many times before crossing for the winner that one started feeling dizzy), it would also be deceptive.
It is hard to offer any defence for the defence, save to say that none of the incumbents abandoned their posts although, come to think of it, where was Sizwe Motaung when Zaire equalised? Nowhere near the dreadlocked Zico Tumbu for sure.
The 20-year-old son of a member of the
Zairean team which played in the 1974 World Cup in West Germany could hardly have believed his luck.
New captain Lucas Radebe needlessly lost possession and Ngoy Nsumbu pushed the ball beyond the reach of Mark Fish to the inrushing Tumbu, who sidefooted past Andr Arendse with an ease which belied the fact that he was a debutant.
Barker later noted that a bus could have been driven through the defence, and he was not referring to a 20-seat minibus either. On a day when South Africa attacked with renewed conviction, the defence leaked like the proverbial sieve.
Now the coach wants to bring Tovey back for the friendly with England at Old Trafford on May 24 when surely he should work on developing Motaung, Fish, Radebe and David Nyathi into a less charitable unit.
Arendse suffered severely from the defensive uncertainty and at times it was difficult to believe that here was a goalkeeper who had entered April without conceding a goal in 695 minutes of international action.
Barker admitted later that he died a thousand deaths, many of them no doubt triggered by a back four that often lacked even the rudimentary skills of hoofing the ball upfield when under pressure. Your own penalty area is no place for one-twos.
To be fair, it was asking a lot even of Radebe to become defensive kingpin and captain on the same afternoon and he, Motaung and Nyathi had arrived in South Africa only three days before the big match.
How much longer can Barker be so accommodating when it comes to the release of players from European clubs. Clive fears a backlash if he plays hardball, but most countries insist on the five-day rule being observed with no obvious retaliation.