Tournament News
Mokoena wary of Reggae Boyz
2009-11-17 10:54
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Cape Town - Bafana Bafana captain Aaron Mokoena believes that Jamaica could prove to be difficult customers - although not as tough as the Japanese - when they tackle the Reggae Boyz in Bloemfontein on Tuesday night.
“The goalless draw against Japan in Port Elizabeth on Saturday was what we needed before facing Jamaica. We believe that we are on track in our efforts to turn the corner. We are confident that we will get a very good result,” he says.
“There are no easy games when you play international matches. The Jamaicans (ranked 69th) could upset us and we will have to be careful.”
According to the Daily Dispatch, Mokoena is spot-on because even though they may have failed to qualify for next year’s World Cup, the Jamaicans gave a very good account of themselves when they held Nigeria, to a goalless draw earlier this year.
Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira says he was pleased with the performance and work rate against Japan but he is looking for yet more effort and improvement in attack and midfield.
“In defence we looked solid when we settled down but there is plenty of room for improvement in midfield.
“We also need to be more aggressive in our build-up in attack and get more shots on target.
“We need to create more chances in front of goal.”
The biggest worry against Japan was that Bafana had only one real shot on target - from midfielder Siphiwe Tshabalala.
Meanwhile, Sapa reports that Jamaican head coach Theodore Whitmore has left out his three English Premiership players - Stoke City´s Ricardo Fuller, Ricardo Gardner of Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic bad boy Marlon King.
That leaves a lot on the shoulders of their Norwegian-based players, defender Adrian Reid who plays for Lillestrom, midfielders Rudolph Austin of Brann Bergen, and Erick Vernan and Damion Williams, who both play for Nybergsund.
The match starts at 20:15.
