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Cape Town - New head coach Molefi Ntseki says while it was a team effort, it felt special winning his first match in charge of Bafana Bafana.
South Africa defeated a stubborn Mali 2-1 in front of a decent crowd at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in the Nelson Mandela Challenge.
Ntseki is the former head coach of the South African U-17 Men’s National Team, former assistant coach of the South African U-20 Men’s National Team as well as former assistant coach of Bafana Bafana.
He also had a stint where he helped at Banyana Banyana.
"I'm very happy to have won my first match against a very strong team," Ntseki said. "We really want to thank Mali for honouring the fixture and coming here to play us.
"We also want to thank every South African who supported us from day one. The journey doesn't end here it has just started to qualify for AFCON 2021 and the Qatar World Cup.
"I think we did very well with our quick combinations as we have very creative skilfull players who were confusing their defensive patterns with our quick movements and combinations.
"I think we had a very good tactical plan that worked well and we can't look down on Mali they are a very good team who are very physical but we did well handling them.
Ntseki went on to thank the fans at a packed Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium saying it was a special feeling leading out the national team.
"To the people of the Eastern Cape we really appreciate the support we really felt the warmth that you've given us," Ntseki added.
"We are very pleased to have been a part of the Nelson Mandela Challenge in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro in the Eastern Cape where Tata was born."
Compiled by Baden Gillion
