Bafana Bafana boss Molefi Ntseki knows pace and skill are his team’s deadliest weapons as he begins his tenure as national team coach.
South Africa kicked off the former assistant coach’s reign with a 2-1 win over Mali in the Nelson Mandela Challenge on Sunday.
And after blowing away the Eagles with the quick movement and interplay of his skilful attacking players with two first-half goals, Ntseki is feeling confident ahead of Afcon 2021 qualifiers next month against Ghana (Nov 11) and Sudan (Nov 19).
SA opened the scoring from the spot in the 23rd minute after Thulani Serero was brought down in the penalty area and Themba Zwane found the net after a blistering seven-pass counter just before half time.
CONFIDENT: Molefi Ntseki. Picture: BackpagePix.
And Ntseki says: “We did very well with our quick combinations from the skillful and creative players with a lot of mobility.
“They were confusing Mali and disrupting their defensive patterns and breaking their lines.”
After the break, the Eagles hit back using their speed down the flanks, but Ntseki believes they had an answer for that too.
The former U17 SA boss adds: “If you look at how we conceded, it was from them just piling pressure on us and we needed to change the system a bit at the back to help cover the wide areas.
DANGER MAN: Kermit Eramus. Picture: Deryck Foster/BackpagePix.
“During our 4-3-3 phase we struggle to cope with their overloading on the fullbacks.
“But we brought in [centreback] Mosa Lebusa to make it three at the back with the three in the midfield and I think it worked out well.
“We resorted to a counter attack then, because we knew that they would open up at the back.”