Kickoff (Cape Town)
12 October 2008
Bafana Bafana coach Joel Santana praised his troops for rising against various challenges to win 1-0 against hosts Equatorial Guinea in Malabo yesterday.
South Africa wrapped up their 2010 African Cup of Nations qualifiers in second spot behind Group 4 leaders, Nigeria.
Santana maintains that he will keep the same team for the friendly against Ghana in Bloemfontein on Wednesday at Telkom Park Stadium.
Speaking after the team's arrival in Johannesburg today at 4.10am, Santana said he was particularly proud of how the players adapted to the conditions in Equatorial Guinea.
"The heat was unbearable, the humidity was high and the pitch was unplayable but the players went in there and played from the heart against these challenges," said the Brazilian. "That is something that really touched me.
"It was a difficult game because the players could not play their normal game as they enjoy their football on the ground, but the bumpy pitch didn't make it easy.
"The poor pitch, made worse by overnight rains, saw the light-bodied players like Siphiwe Tshabalala, Teko Modise and Siyabonga Nkosi falling a lot because of the slippery surface. As a result of the poor pitch we committed about five fouls that could have easily seen us conceding.
"We managed to control the game from the start, though, and the early goal helped us to ease off the pressure and allow us to get used to the pitch conditions. Throughout the opening half, we managed to hold them off very well and the opposition only managed one ball to break through dangerously.
"What also helped us is that this is largely the same Bafana Bafana team that played against Australia and Nigeria, and I believe that this is helping the players to understand each other."
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