Bafana Bafana Defeat Boavista FC
16 March 2010
| The South African Men's Senior National Team (Bafana Bafana) have defeated local Brazilian side Boavista by a score of two goals to nil (2-nil). This was the third practice match of the team's Brazilian training camp and was played at the Granja Comary.
The first goal came from Siphiwe Tshabalala in the 30th minute following a rebound from the Boavista goalkeeper. The goal is Tshabalala’s third in three games.
In the 54th minute Lebohang Mokoena made it two nil when he also found the back of the net. |
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Bafana Bafana have not lost any of the training matches during this camp. They played to a goalless draw against Volta Redonda on Saturday, 13 March 2010 and beat Fluminense by eight goals to nil (8-0) on Sunday, 14 March 2010. Bafana Bafana have also not conceded a goal in all three matches.
The clash against Boavista was fast-paced, it produced some hard running, many spirited challenges and proved to be a lot tougher than the previous two matches. But Bafana Bafana emerged victorious despite the best efforts of the tough and talented opposition.
“On Tuesday (16 March) our training camp will be one week old and we have seen some improvement in the squad. We cannot ask for miracles and expect players to be super fit, but it is a process. I must say so far the camp has been a success. The outcome has been very positive" said Bafana Bafana Head Coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira. "We should have won the first game as well but, make no mistake, we are not there yet. We still have a lot of work ahead of us and we will continue working hard. I am happy about the wins but the main idea remains to grow this side to a formidable team that will be super fit, can keep shape, keep possession and finish off strongly. My keepers have not been tested, which means we are doing something right in defence,” continued Parreira.
Once again the coach used two sets of eleven players for each half. Teko Modise captained the team in the first half whilst Lance Davids led the side in the second half.
“The idea of using 11 different players for each half is two-fold. It was a chance to see as many players as I could and also because our players were not ready for a full 90-minute session after a hectic and shortened PSL season. But in the next match against Cruzeiro I am going to use one team for the match because we need to start narrowing down our team for the FIFA World Cup. I have an idea who they are and these remaining matches will give us some direction,” said the coach.
Bafana Bafana’s next match is against Cruzeiro in Belo Horizonte on Wednesday, 17 March 2010 before they tackle Botafogo in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, 20 March 2010.
Moeneeb Josephs, goalkeeper:
“We are making good progress because the training is top class. We are playing to our strengths, That is why you see the results are going our way. Everything is falling nicely into place. The past three games have proven to be a good exercise with the emphasis on keeping possession and putting the ball on the ground and that is what we have been doing. Also another crucial aspect of this camp is that we are learning to be a group, to be a unit because that will be crucial at the FIFA World Cup.”
Richard Henyekane, striker:
“Things have been going well and according to plan. I have also been impressed by the facilities here which make training all the more enjoyable. As for the three matches, we saw where we have been going wrong, tried to improve with every match, and that is why we got good results even though Monday's match was a lot tougher than the last two matches. What we saw in the teams that we played against is that they have good ball possession skills and that is very crucial in that if done perfectly it can easily frustrate opponents and lead to victory.”
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