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Cape Town - Bafana Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba said he was largely impressed by the team’s 2-0 showing in the second leg of the CHAN tournament against Mauritius on Sunday at Anjalay Stadium.
The win completed a 5-0 aggregate win over the islanders and Bafana Bafana will now meet Angola for a place in the CHAN finals in Rwanda next year.
However, Mashaba remains unhappy with the failure by the strikers to convert a glut of chances created during matches, reports the SAFA website.
“By and large, we had a good game. Winning 2-0 away from home is a fantastic outcome but I am still not happy with our finishing. This is another game we could easily have massacred the opposition but had to rely on goals from the midfielder and a defender; we need to be ruthless in front of goals,” he said.
The Bafana Bafana mentor said despite not finishing off the opposition, he was happy with the progress shown by the Senior National football team as the squad attempts to qualify both for CHAN and the Africa Cup of Nations.
Bafana’s next assignment is against Mauritania away from home in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in September before playing Angola home and away in the CHAN qualifier in October.
“We are headed for some really testing times, with a congested fixture list but that will also test our mental attitude.
“What I am glad about is that we have managed to create a huge pool of players both from the domestic front and the overseas players. That gives me great comfort.”
Mashaba said he remains focussed on making Bafana Bafana one of the greatest and competitive sides not only on the continent but globally.
“There might be some dissenting voices but I am quite impressed we are very much on track to achieve something great with this crop of players. Most if not all are committed to a common cause and that gives me great satisfaction that we are on course with our mission,” he added.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper and captain Itumeleng Khune said the Bafana Bafana team is picking at the right time following three successive victories over Angola and Mauritius home and away after beginning the AFCON qualifying campaign with an uneventful goalless draw against Gambia.
“It is a good culture to win. It creates lots of confidence and some sort of camaraderie among the players and that is what you need within the squad,” said the goalkeeper who showed a glimpse of his former self during the return match.
Bafana Bafana returned home on Monday morning from Mauritius.
