Durban – The lightweight South African attack will have their work cut out as they prepare to face a Gambian side on the rise in the opening match of the Africa Cup of Nations Group M qualifiers in Durban on Saturday.
For the third day of the camp there was no sign of leading striker Tokelo Rantie who was given permission to arrive late following his weekend nuptials.
The Bafana Bafana management were expected to release a statement last night confirming the player’s status, although with two training sessions left it seems unlikely that he will feature in the game.
That leaves coach Ephraim Mashaba with an inexperienced arsenal of Bonginkosi Ntuli, Vuyisile Wana, Gift Motupa and Siphelele Ntshangase. The latter pair played in the First Division and failed to reach double digits in the scorers’ chart, while the other two were relegated from the PSL.
Thirteen members of this squad featured at the last edition of the Nations Cup earlier this year. Rantie was the only forward selected, after Bernard Parker and Bongani Ndulula fell off the coach’s radar.
In contrast the Scorpions of Gambia are growing in confidence as they attempt to qualify for their first Nations Cup.
Building from scratch after a two-year ban for age cheating, Gambia last month appointed Swiss coach Raoul Savoy and enlisted mostly European-based professionals. Their attack is likely to be fronted by England-based duo Mustapha Carayol and Barrow Modou who made their international debut in a 1-1 draw with Uganda in Kampala this week.
Before this come-from-behind draw Gambia beat fellow Group M opponents Mauritania 1-0 in a March friendly on their return to international football. Whatever Mashaba and company hope to learn about this newly assembled Gambian side they will need to glean from Tuesday’s friendly. That the side ranked 160 drew with a Uganda outfit placed two spots behind South Africa at 71, suggests they have enough to surprise Bafana Bafana.
While the home defence is fairly stable with regular faces Anele Ngcongca, Rivaldo Coetzee, Thulani Hlatshwayo and goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune, they could come unstuck if the lightweight attack fails to ignite against a team that will likely spoil for a draw.
The Gambians can play too, warned former University of Pretoria and Supersport United striker Brian Umony who created Uganda’s second half goal which was cancelled by Omar Jagne, a Sweden-based striker.
“I think South Africa will have a tough one. I saw a mature, well-drilled team, tough to beat. They are good passers and keep the ball well. Their midfield is good, particularly the No10, but I don’t know their names. And their wingers are full of pace, good at one-on-ones.”
Despite those words of caution, Umony believes South Africa will win if they play to their potential and exploit Gambia’s weakness at left-back. “They lack creativity and innovation in front of goal.
“And their left-back is a weak point. They might surprise, though. Most play professional football in Europe. They are quite tall and slender just like the Senegalese. But we were poor also. We lacked intensity and co-ordination. Maybe that is why they appeared tough for us to beat. It’s a decent side, Gambia, but nothing really special,” Umony added.
Although the South African attack lacks depth, the experienced midfield should have the beating of Gambia, notwithstanding the absence of injured captain Dean Furman. Mashaba focused on attacking midfield drills at training this week where the likes of Thulani Serero, Andile Jali and Thuso Phala featured prominently. Orlando Pirates midfielder Oupa Manyisa, who missed two days training because of tight muscles, was fully involved in yesterday’s People’s Park work-out.
The other Group M match will see Cameroon hosting Mauritania on Sunday.- The Star