Bafana Bafana players will not use their recent poor away form as an excuse if they fail to beat minnows Sierra Leone in a crunch 2010 African Nations Cup qualifier in Freetown on Saturday night. Kick-off is at 6.30pm South African time.
That was the word from players spoken to after head coach Joel Santana had put his players through a training session at a cold Pilditch Stadium on Tuesday.
But despite the fact that there are almost 100 world-ranking places between the countries, Bafana are not taking the Leone Stars for granted. Bafana are ranked 68th and the Leone Stars 163rd in the world.
The Bafana players are aware that Group Four favourites Nigeria needed a last-minute goal to sink Sierra Leone in Freetown last Saturday. Sierra Leone lost their opening Group Four qualifier away to Equatorial Guinea 2-0.
Bafana bounced back after losing 2-0 away to Nigeria in their opening qualifier when they thumped Equatorial Guinea 4-1 at the Super Stadium last Saturday.
One of the stars of Bafana’s sparkling 4-1 win over Equatorial Guinea, defensive midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi, was wary but confident.
Said the Golden Arrows ace, who scored twice against equatorial Guinea in what was his best performance in a Bafana jersey: ”We know it is going to be a tight game. Nigeria beat us 2-0 but struggled to beat Sierra Leone. That means we are not going to have it easy.
”We must be cautious. They have suffered two successive losses and will be under pressure at home to get a result. Maybe a draw would be a good result for us in Freetown.”
Dikgacoi said he would never forget his first goal for Bafana — a 25m rocket that bulged the back of the Equatorial Guinea net to put Bafana 1-0 ahead after 10 minutes. Dikgacoi underlined his outstanding performance with a second, and his country’s fourth, late in injury time.
”I will never forget the first goal. It was a real beauty. I would love another on Saturday. Scoring a goal for one’s country is a wonderful experience,” he said.
Swedish midfielder Lance Davids, who was dropped for the clash against Equatorial Guinea, agreed that playing away is tough, but added: ”We cannot use our poor form as an excuse. We know we have to come home with a result, especially after we played so well in beating Equatorial Guinea.”
Another player who is hoping to get a run against Sierra Leone is Kaizer Chiefs’ talented left wing, Siphiwe Tshabalala, who said the 4-1 win over Equatorial Guinea had done wonders for team morale.
”Scoring four goals was fantastic. We have worked hard during the past two weeks in camp. We have put in a lot of effort in preparing for Saturday’s game. Despite what will be a hostile atmosphere, I am confident that if we fight like we did against Equatorial Guinea, we can beat Sierra Leone.”
Tshabalala’s Amakhosi teammate, Gerald Sibeko, is still hoping to win his first cap but said he was learning a lot with Bafana.
”I am patient. We have a squad of 25 players with everyone wanting to play, and that is as it should be. But I realise I will have to wait my turn as the coach has indicated he will keep the side that beat Equatorial Guinea.”
On Saturday’s opponents, Sibeko said: ”They are a closed book to all of us. We will go there positive and aim for three points.” — Sapa