Bafana Bafana defeat Zimbabwe
27 January 2010
Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Parreira is satisfied with the work done during the twelve days of the training camp that was held in Durban. The camp ended on Wednesday (27 January) night after South Africa defeated Zimbabwe two nil (3-0) in a friendly international played at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
The Durban camp is the first of four that will be used to prepare the Senior Men’s National Team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament that will be held in June. Only ABSA Premiership players were called for this camp.
Victory against neighbours Zimbabwe was the second in four days for Bafana Bafana who on Saturday (23 January) walloped Swaziland six-two (6-2) in a training match that took place at the Chatsworth Stadium also in Durban.
“I am happy with the results, but we have to go back and work some more. It’s only 12 twelve days of camping after a long break, so it was no easy to build a team in those days, but I must say the boys did well at training,” said Parreira.
After a goalless first half, South Africa piled on the pressure in the second stanza and took the lead four minutes after the break - Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Siphiwe Tshabalala scored a beautiful free kick on the edge of the penalty area after Reneilwe Letsholonyane was brought down.
Sensing victory, Parreira made four changes to give his side a fresh look. Goal scorer Tshabalala made way for Franklin Cale, Letsholonyane departed for Lance Davids, and the duo of Gert Schalkwyk and Katlego Mphela were withdrawn, with Thulasizwe Mbuyane and Richard Henyekane replacing them respectively.
Mbuyane repaid his coach’s faith in him when he increased South Africa’s lead in the 76th minute with a well-taken header following a Siboniso Gaxa cross.
Captain of the day Teko Modise was also substituted for his Orlando Pirates teammate Andile Jali to make his debut in the Bafana Bafana team.
In the 90th minute, defender Lucas Thwala rose above the Zimbabwe defence to put the issue beyond doubt when he grabbed South Africa’s third goal of the night. Bafana Bafana have now hit the back of the net nine times in two matches.
“We deserved to win the match, especially in the second half because in the first half we just did not play well. We made too many mistakes, we did not create a lot of chances upfront but our defence was solid. In the second half we applied pressure and did not allow Zimbabwe to build from the back, also the fresh players that came in for us made a huge difference. So I am really happy with the performance from the two matches, but we have to play our kind of game of ball possession to be in control,” added Parreira.
Another debutante, defender Thanduyise Khubone of Lamontville Golden Arrows was picked as the man of the match.
Bafana Bafana will now take a break for the month of January while the players return to their clubs to finish off the 2009/2010 ABSA Premiership season.
Next up is another training camp that will be held in Brazil in March, followed by another in Germany in April.
In May South Africa will round off their World Cup preparations with the last camp that will be held in Johannesburg.
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