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Bafana stuck to game plan: Mashaba

Libreville- Bafana Bafana head coach Shakes Mashaba praised his charges for sticking to their game plan following their impressive victory over Mali on Wednesday.

Bafana humiliated the Eagles with a 3-0 triumph in their last 2015 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) warm-up encounter in Gabon.

Thulani Hlatswayo, Sibusiso Vilakazi and Dean Furman were on target for South Africa.

Unsettle the Eagles

Mashaba believes that unity within the camp played a significant role in securing their first win, in four attempts, over the West African giants.

Mashaba also hinted that one of their game plans was to unsettle the Eagles with an early goal and they succeeded to make their lives much easier throughout the match.

“We are happy because the boys stuck to our game plan,” said Mashaba.

“The plan was to not allow them to go forward.

“I told the boys to allow them to play at the back and once we catch them, we’ll get them on a break most of the time.

“Secondly, we played as a unit and we knew that most of their players’ play abroad and they have good quality players.

“But we felt that we must try and keep them at bay and look at the goal.

Tough assignment

“We were fortunate and we scored an early goal, which made our life much easier.”

A win for South African meant that Bafana are yet to taste defeat under Mashaba’s reign since taking over from Gordon Igesund in August last year.

Bafana’s next opponents will be a tough assignment against Algeria in their AFCON Group C opener at Estadio de Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea on Monday.

Mali will kick-off their tournament against Cameroon in a much anticipated Group D clash at Nuevo Estadio de Malabo on Tuesday.
   

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