It's almost a year since this column launched here and most of you have read what I’ve been saying about the state of our national football.
Bafana Bafana began their Africa Cup of Nations journey against one of the tournament favourites Ivory Coast on Monday and it wasn’t good.
On paper, we were the underdogs, based purely on man to man reputation.
So we had to approach the match carefully because, well, we are South Africa and we are not as good as they are currently, man for man.
I don’t want to waste time breaking down Ivory Coast man for man, but to highlight my point, I’ll talk about how the West Africans had the luxury of benching Wilfred Zaha.
You know mos about Zaha my mfowethu, you see what he does week in week out in the Premier League for Crystal Palace.
So Stuart Baxter had to be mindful of the damage that the Ivorians could cause us if we got carried away in attack.
Plus it’s hot in Egypt and you can only make three substitutions.
Baxter made the right call and got his team to slow the pace down and they kept the ball and as a result were in control of how fast the game was played.
It frustrated the hell out of the Ivorians, who committed a klomp fouls.
BENCH LUXURY: Wilfried Zaha
Funny enough, it was a South African who got the game’s first yellow card - a striker, Lebo Mothiba, for backing into an opponent that he was trying to shield the ball from.
Sounds like a standard battle between a striker and
defender, right? Not according to the referee, the same guy who ignored an off-the-ball shoulder charge on Dean Furman, committed by eventual goalscorer Jonathan Kodjia barely two minutes into the match.
Now folks, that’s where luck comes in.
South Africa were frustrating their opponents who ended up pushing and shoving because they could not get the ball as Bafana were moving it around in midfield.
That's a positive because recent Bafana teams usually throw possession away with hurried attacks.
It was a match that would be decided by a mistake and unfortunately the mistake was made by Bafana, who lost the ball and were caught out on the counter attack.
CAUTION: Boss Stuart Baxter
We lost the match which was always a high probability, with a draw more realistic than Bafana beating the Elephants.
What I don’t understand is how badly people are taking this loss, as if we deserved it.
Bafana are underdogs. So is it a surprise then when they lose against a team favoured to beat them?
It’s just 1-0, in the first game in a tournament where there is a chance to turn it around with a positive result in the very next game against the group’s whipping boys Namibia.
Bafana have not had a full-time assistant coach since Baxter took over two years ago. There are obviously bigger issues that affect Bafana’s chances.
It’s not only just about not being a good team, it’s about not being a good team and not being given solid support by those in charge of the small logistics on your journey.
You’ve all been here as I’ve been putting on paper how broken our management of football in the country is.
So all in all, we need to know our place and be realistic about our chances. The only way is up if you lower your expectations.
It’s also easier to accept and recover from a defeat when you are prepared for it.
Bafana have an opportunity to make up against Namibia on Friday evening at Al-Salaam Stadium (kickoff 10pm). You’re allowed to be disgusted if they don’t win that match!