Pitso Mosimane has challenged South Africa’s forwards to be more clinical when Bafana Bafana face Kenya in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Nairobi on Tuesday.
South Africa were held to a 2-2 draw by the Harambee Stars at Orlando Stadium on Friday, despite creating enough opportunities to win the match. The result kept Bafana Bafana top of Group D, but Guinea’s victory over Eritrea in Conakry on Thursday has reduced their advantage.
South Africa have seven points, while Guinea have six. With only three qualifiers remaining, Mosimane’s side cannot afford another loss of points if they are to retain control of the group.
Mamelodi Sundowns forward Iqraam Rayners was selected to start ahead of Lyle Foster, but missed the clearest chances against Kenya, including opportunities when he was one-on-one with goalkeeper Shikhalo Faruk.
Rayners and the rest of South Africa’s attack will now be expected to improve their finishing in Tuesday’s return fixture. A victory would help Bafana Bafana strengthen their position at the top of the standings.
Mosimane believes his squad has the experience and resilience to respond.
“I think this team has got enough experience and character from the past to be able to deal with this. They have dealt with qualifying for the Fifa World Cup when three points were deducted.
“I think this team has got character, and they play well. They can be too good sometimes and too pretty, but they forgot about scoring goals even though we created chances.”
The coach said he was encouraged by the number of openings his team created, even though he was unhappy with the finishing.
“I am sad, and you can hear my voice. Do I want a team that doesn’t create chances and we hope for the best? No, I want a team that plays and creates many chances.
“Then we can work on taking the chances, unlike working on how we create the chances. The most difficult is how to play and how to create the chances.”
Mosimane said the problem was psychological rather than technical, particularly when attackers are presented with clear chances against the goalkeeper.
“It’s mental and never technique. When you face one vs one with the goalkeeper and we don’t take our chances, it’s very sad, but it’s part of football.
“It’s the story of football, and it’s never an easy story. If it’s easy, everyone can do it, but we move on, and we are still top of the log.”
Kenya changed their approach after recognising they could earn a point, with Mosimane noting that they moved to a back five.
“You can say that they have nothing to lose, but you saw how they went to the back five when they realised that they can get a point.”
