28 November 2007
Cape Town — These are the sort of results which can easily get people carried away.
"We got the five goals," hollered the match announcer at the conclusion of this one-sided match. "We'll get five more in the next match," he added. Dream on.
As he made his way past a few ecstatic fans back into the dressing room, Carlos Parreira must have wished that all Bafana Bafana matches are as easy as this, or that the match announcer's prediction turns true. The reality, however, is that far better opposition lie in wait for Bafana.
Faced with a Lesotho side which no one could tell if it was an A or B team because of its mixture of experience and youth, South Africa's C team performed admirably to record an accomplished victory on Tuesday night.
Parreira staged this unofficial friendly as a test for some fringe players who could stake a claim in the team that travels to the Nations Cup next year. Pity this below-par Lesotho side offered anything but a test for the hosts.
Likoena fired their head coach on the eve of this match. They may as well have fired their entire side, for they froze in chilly conditions in spite of having experienced campaigners Lehlohonolo Seema and Lebajoa Mphongoa in their side. They offered no resistance and appeared as if they had made the long trip from the Mountain Kingdom to hand out Christmas gifts.
Three of Bafana's goals certainly amounted to donations, but the ruthlessness of Terror Fanteni, who helped himself to a brace, Lebohang Mokoena and Thando Mngomeni, who each added a goal, deserved some praise nonetheless.
The goal of the night belonged to Katlego Mphela, however, who turned two defenders before placing the ball expertly beyond Lesotho's substitute goalkeeper, Phasumane Kholuoe.
Accurate finishing has been in short supply in both the domestic league and the national side, so for the couple of thousand fans who made it to this match, it must have been a huge relief, although even they knew Bafana were up against a terribly pathetic team.
Still, Parreira will have been encouraged by a solid overall performance from a team who only assembled for training on Monday.
Aside from the precision of Fanteni - he opened the score with a well-hit long-range effort before profiting from a goalkeeping gaffe to add the second - Mphela also gave a heartening showing after coming on as a substitute.
Parreira was asked afterwards if he thought some players may get the nod for the trip to Ghana, but his response was "wait for Friday" - the day when he announces his 23-man squad.
That it will mostly be made up overseas-based players is a foregone conclusion, but men such as Wayne Sandilands and Ashraf Hendricks will feel that had they faced a challenge last night, they might have made a compelling case.
Pity that Lesotho, who arrived here without their head coach, were in disarray for large parts of this match and didn't offer much of a challenge.
"We achieved our objectives in this match. Some boys used the opportunity very well," Parreira added. But he has a tough task ahead - making the grade against Tunisia, Angola and Senegal who are SA's group opponents at the Nations Cup. We'll wait for Friday.
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