We had a taste of the tournament – Mashaba
Bafana had a taste of AFCON 2015 in the preparations against Cameroon.
Bafana Bafana head coach Ephraim Shakes Mashaba believes the international friendly match against Cameroon gave his side the test of what is to come in the CAF Orange Africa Cup of Nations Equatorial Guinea 2015 tournament.
South Africa held the indomitable Lions to a 1-all draw on Saturday January 10 at the Stade de L’amitie in Libreville, Gabon.
Bafana Bafana got off to a very slow start and conceded an early goal, but regrouped, forcing a draw in an exciting contest which ended 1-1.
There was even a chance to win the match as Bafana Bafana dominated the second half.
“We create chances but we don’t finish them off. We planned well, we knew what to expect. They are a good side, very experienced and hard working. They were all over us in the opening 30 minutes, but my boys were very resilient and withstood the pressure and showed great grit. We knew we would come back and come back we did in the second half. The Cameroonians gave us what to expect in Equatorial Guinea,” said Mashaba.
“Cameroonians are strong, big and physical and this is what you expect from West Africans. But I also want to believe that the people who came to watch the game got their money’s worth, because there was everything one could expect in a match of this magnitude. We are happy we were able to compete in this match and it helped us a great deal with our preparations.”
Captain of the team Dean Furman was full of praise for his teammates.
“We got off to the worst possible start so early in the game and for about 20 minutes we didn’t recover from that, but started picking up in the last 15 minutes of the first half. We had a good talk with the coach at half time and he told us to believe; believe in our ability, believe in our team and that’s what we did,” said Furman.
“Sibusiso Vilakazi came on and he was great – that’s the thing about our squad, everyone is fighting for places, everyone wants to start, everyone wants to have the jersey on. The boys who came on made a big difference and we are proud of our second half performance. We can only get better from here.”
Meanwhile Bafana Bafana has received accolades from Cameroon coach Volcker Finke.
“Yes they are in a tough group but they are doing well. While preparing for our match against them, I watched tapes of their last two games – the 2-1 win over Sudan and the 2-all draw against Nigeria – I can tell you now many teams are in for a surprise from South Africa. They look like they can get into the second round, that is very possible,” said Finke.
The squad has been given a rest for Sunday January 11 and will return to training on Monday January 12 to prepare for their final practice match against Mali on Wednesday January 14 in Libreville, Gabon.
