Durban — Bafana Bafana Coach Helman Mkhalele has heaped praise on his young group after they edged Botswana 2-1 to claim the Plate Section of the Hollywoodbets Cosafa Cup on Sunday at the Sugar Ray Xulu stadium.
A largely changed south african national team side lined up against the Zebras of Botswana and it quickly showed as they struggled to gain control of the match but rode it out with pure guts and character said Mkhalele.
"We didn't start well,even though we won. We took a huge risk and we made eight changes which is something unfamiliar with my personality," he said.
"After playing two games in a short space of time and now changing the entire team, it really back-fired and it was only in the last 15 minutes of the game after we had made changes again that we regained our rhythm but all in all congratulations to my boys for a well earned victory.
The Bafana technical team raised a few eyebrows five minutes before halftime as they pulled off Northern Ireland based Katlego Mashigo and Golden Arrows man Sbonelo Cele for Rasebotja and Mamelodi Sundowns Siyanda Msani as they continued to struggle with gaining control of the game.
The Bafana and Orlando Pirates midfielder addressed the issues surrounding those two substitutions and let it be known that he and his team were well aware of the emotional implications of withdrawing any player before the break.
"For each and every player that comes into the national team set up, we communicate what is expected of them whilst they play for the national team," he explained
"On one side it might look like it might dent his confidence but at the same time you are guided by what is happening during the game and we needed to adjust for us to achieve our set goals."
He added that: " we were struggling to grab a hold of the game and Botswana are very dangerous in the middle therefore we didn't want to find ourselves in a position where we regret not making that change."
Bafana Bafana will have to switch their mindset to CAF Chan qualification as a date with the Comoros island awaits them next week.
The South African Football Association (SAFA) had initially stated that they would use players from the recently concluded ABC Motsepe League play-offs but it appears that they have reversed that decision citing an administration nightmare.
"We are looking at the amount of time we have and considering the fact that we have to play next Friday, we feel it would be suicidal for us to re-assemble another team right now because majority of the players that are not here already are currently in pre-season," he said.
IOL Sport