Share

Mashaba feeling the pressure

Cape Town - Bafana Bafana head coach Shakes Mashaba says his charges find it difficult to win when they play at home due to the amount of pressure on their shoulders, following yet another goalless encounter against Gambia over the weekend.

Bafana and the Scorpions shared the spoils in their 2017 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday.

Mashaba believes teams are expected to win all their home games which is why they feel pressurised to deliver.

However, the coach also hinted that Bafana usually do well away from home - as was the case in the 2015 AFCON qualifying campaign where they won two away games and drew another two at home.

“I always say this in press conferences that playing at home is not easy at all,” said Mashaba.

“There is too much pressure when you are playing at home because everyone is expecting you to win. It doesn’t happen to only us but the rest of the teams in Africa.

“Look how we performed in the last qualifying campaign when we played away from home and at home, we didn’t do well at home but we were doing well away.

“We always try to do our best as a team but sometimes the pressure is too much but I still believe that we’ll do well when we return the fixture to them.

“And nonetheless our boys did very well on the day.”

Bafana’s next assignment will be against Angola in a friendly clash at Cape Town Stadium on Tuesday.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
loading... Live
Manchester City 4
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1
Voting Booth
Should the Proteas pick Faf du Plessis for the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the United States in June?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Faf still has a lot to give ...
68% - 2306 votes
No! It's time to move on ...
32% - 1103 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE