Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter is confident that his team can beat Senegal in Saturday’s Nelson Mandela Cup match to be played at Port Elizabeth’s Epru Stadium.
”It will take a lot of hard work and plenty of what we are good at to beat these guys. The boys are looking sharp,” Baxter said after his team’s final training session on Friday afternoon.
Fortunately for Baxter, unlike in the past, there have been no latecomers since the team assembled on Wednesday. The only injury scare was that of Elrio van Heerden, who passed a late fitness test after twisting his ankle on Wednesday.
Baxter could not have asked for a better build-up to such a game, as it is played in honour of South Africa’s former president Nelson Mandela.
With the name Mandela carrying plenty of sentiment for the South Africans, there will be even more added pressure on the hosts to deliver a grand performance with the retirement of goalkeeper Hans Vonk.
Such has been the focus on Mandela and Vonk that Baxter is toying with the idea of handing the captain’s armband to the 35-year-old Ajax Amsterdam goalkeeper.
”There is a case for him captaining the side and I want Hans to play a part in tomorrow’s occasion. I’ll probably bring on Rowan Fernandez some time during the second half as a sign of transition in the side.
”I just feel that Hans deserves to leave the team in a dignified manner,” Baxter said.
Looking happier than he has on most occasions at the helm of the national team, Baxter seems to have found his perfect balance — especially in his team’s offensive play.
”We have been looking for mobile strikers and I think we have found that in guys like Sibusiso Zuma, Siyabonga Nomvete and Elrio van Heerden whom we’ve given a licence to move around. In Benni McCarthy and Shaun Bartlett one sort of knew what they were going to get,” said Baxter.
And while Senegal may seem like a depleted side, at face value, after arriving in South Africa without three of their key players, Baxter believes that Bafana’s opponents are still very strong.
”They’ve got enough big-name players in their side. And we can also turn around and say that we are missing guys like Benni, Shaun, Delron Buckley and Quentin Fortune.
”This is a big challenge for my team, but I’m very optimistic,” Baxter said.
If optimism was the only thing Baxter carried into the encounter, then the battle could be considered half-won.
Fortunately for Baxter, the game could swing his way in any case with just the sentiment of Mandela and Vonk. — Sapa