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Cape Town - Bafana Bafana’s preparations are in full swing ahead of their second leg 2016 African Nations Championships (CHAN) qualifier against Mauritius on Sunday, 5 July.
The South Africans held their second training session on Tuesday morning at the University of Johannesburg Stadium, reports SAFA.net.
Rising defender Motjeka Madisha joined his compatriots as a replacement for Ntsikelelo Nyauza at the training camp as coach Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba took his full squad through their paces.
Bafana Bafana team is now expected to depart for Mauritius on Friday, 3 July and the two nations will face-off at the Stade Anjalay at 15h00 local time (SA time 13h00).
The visitors take a healthy 3-0 lead to the Indian Ocean Islanders but will not rest on their laurels.
“The aim is to win the game but we know they won’t make it easy for us. We are not taking anything for granted seeing that we have won the first leg comfortably at home, we are all aware it will be a different ball game. We are going out there all focused on victory but cannot afford to be complacent,” said Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Jackson Mabokgwane.
“We will be playing on a deferent pitch, in front of their supporters and perhaps different weather conditions but we are prepared for all that will come our way. The nice thing is that these matches are helping to give the new guys some experience as you are all aware that we had an almost completely new team in the first leg and even for the return match.”
His words were echoed by forward Siphelele Ntshanganse who has been a revelation in the Bafana Bafana squad. His two goals in the first leg (and one from Thamsanqa Gabuza) saw South Africa to victory in the first leg about a fortnight ago in at the Dobsonville Stadium.
“Firstly I would like to thank the national team coaches for giving me the opportunity to play in the team. We are expecting a tough match in Mauritius because playing away is not easy compared to playing at home,” said Ntshangase after Bafana Bafana’s training session.
“But the mood is very high, everybody is looking forward to the game. We all want to win the match and the players have a point to prove. The team is slowly starting to gel and training has been going very well which gives us the confidence to travel to Mauritius and bring back positive results.”
