Kickoff (Cape Town)
Neil Greig
24 November 2008
opinion
Putting emotions aside isn't easy, that's why I've waited for the excitement to die down. Still, I've thought about the performance and I cannot separate this from some of South Africa's top displays of all time. I will fit the Cameroon win amongst my top three all time shows.
A show because I was entertained. I, like many Bafana fans, love exciting football. Expressing ourselves is what we're about as South Africans.
But results sit closer to my heart than anything else. The fact that Joel Santana's boys are mixing hot football with results lately is a welcoming experience and that will be needed against the world's best in June next year.
I watched the Nelson Mandela Challenge match from the comforts of a living room, alongside my father who is out on holiday from England where he's been working for the past nine years.
He was thrilled with the way Bafana played, especially the explosive and confident individual displays by Teko Modise and Siphiwe Tshabalala.
'Quick feet, pace and confidence' is how he described Tshabalala who he watched for the first time.
Modise, he says, was pure class with excellent creativity and awareness. And he isn't easily pleased.
As a youngster in Durban, dad played with or against some great players like Bryan Harman, Rodney Kitchin and Ronnie Mann during his stints for South African Schools and at spells with Durban United, Twini Park and Durban Ramblers.
We also sat alongside a Bafana international with close to 20 caps.
We all agreed that Bafana totally dominated the midfield battle, which coaches regularly point to as the key area on the field to control.
Macbeth Sibaya, coming off a Russian league title with Rubin Kazan, bossed the midfield from the first minute using his strength and experience to provide a platform for the young players to work from. He was ably backed up by a nuggety and fierce Lance Davids who is coming into his own now as a tackler and distributor.
They kept things simple and allowed the more creative players to attack Cameroon. I feel this was one of the most balanced and disciplined Bafana midfield displays of all time. Credit to Santana for the providing the oil and to the players for sticking to their roles in the engine room.
Sibaya and Davids were up against real quality in Modeste Mbami and Jean Makoun (which had me worried before the start).
But my hat is off to say well done to Sibaya and Davids - a fantastic performance! Without doubt, them getting in the faces of Cameroon inspired confidence amongst their teammates, allowing the creativeness of Modise and Tshabalala to show at its all time best.
Modise's goals were pure quality - my father saying, in his opinion, that both strikes belonging in the top draw of world goals. Bernard Parker's winner, he said, was a real English Premiership strike - relentless work by Thulasizwe Mbuyane and Parker, who showed balance, skill and awareness to turn the ball in.
Up front it was plain to see that the pace of the game got to both Siyabonga Nkosi and Benni McCarthy. But it's understandable given their lack of regular club football.
Nevertheless, well done to Benni for playing so soon after the tragic death of his father. To see Benni shed a tear during the singing of the anthems shows what it meant to be playing. His touch in Modise's second goal oozed experience.
Starting the move from deep, Modise simply carved through Cameroon like a knife through hot butter with the assistance of a deft flick from Benni. Slotting the ball home with his weaker left foot signalled a player who has kicked on from his rapid growth under previous coach Carlos Alberto Parreira.
Under Santana last night, Modise rose to another level. His first strike showed sublime shooting technique, which every South African player could learn from.
He deserved a hat trick. His penalty miss, saved expertly from top class goalkeeper Carlos Kameni, the only disappointment on the night for him.
Still set pieces remain a thorn in Bafana's side. Defending them has never been a strength.
Despite TV commentators saying the defensive wall could have done more to stop the first one going in, truth is that shot would have beaten any goalie. It was a superb strike and it's nonsense that the wall could've prevented it.
The second goal was a blotch on Bafana's scorecard. Shocking marking at the far post, Aaron Mokoena and Matthew Booth should have organised things better with one of them sitting deep instead of the shorter Tsepo Masilela.
Cameroon coach Otto Pfister moaned about Safa's apparent bungling around visas for many of the visitors' star players. Yes there was no Eto'o, Song or Bikey. But this cannot take away the performance of Bafana as a unit.
Teamwork has again become number one, as it was during he golden period of the mid nineties. Individualism, if used within a structure and teamwork, is a vital South African weapon. Last night it was unleashed within these boundaries.
In our last two matches we've fought back to win matches against two African powerhouses and this shows character building amongst the team.
Perhaps the importance Parreira placed on securing a coach who would continue with his plan is starting to pay dividends.
Back in June nobody in South Africa would hear this. Bafana were shocking and crumbled in the heat of intense qualifying matches. But now, the team is playing good football, reminisent of Parreira's era, and lately results have been coming.
Last night the shape of the team was superb, the passing slick, movement off the ball excellent - a clear continuation of what Parreira started. Heads did not drop when Cameroon levelled at 2-2. Instead we kept playing football with belief.
Also, Bryce Moon, Nasief Morris, Surprise Moriri, Elrio Van Heerden and Kagisho Dikgacoi didn't start the game.
A strong pool of players has been cemented. Finding up to four good players for each position was Parreira's initial aim. Now the likes of Siboniso Gaxa, Davids, Bernard Parker and Mbuyane are showing that fringe players can easily be counted on as first team stars.
Dare I say it - Bafana is taking serious shape at long last.
Patience and support will see this squad develop into a group that plays great football and gets results.
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