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If you cannot beat a team like Gambia at home, then something must be wrong.
Bafana should shoulder the blame for their poor display when they got their 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers off to a shaky start as they played to a disappointing goalless draw against Gambia in a dreary game last night.
The sooner Bafana realise that winning home games is key to the qualifiers, the better it will be as they do not know the conditions they will play under when they visit their opponents.
At the sound of the final whistle, coach Shakes Mashaba cut a lonely figure as he shook his head wondering what had just happened. This was not the start Bafana had hoped for in the qualifiers as they huffed and puffed in front of their fans.
A third game without scoring a goal should ring the alarm bells for Mashaba as his team continued from where they left off in the Cosafa Cup by failing to score in two games.
But without Tokelo Rantie, who has been their saviour in recent times, it was always going to be difficult for Bafana to find the back of the net.
Rantie’s replacement, Thamsanqa Gabuza, could not crack it and Siphelele Ntshangase also failed to impress in front of goal.
Meanwhile, the visitors celebrated the draw like they had won the game as they hugged each other, knowing they had got what they had come here for.
It was clear from the onset that the Scorpions would be content with a draw as they packed their midfield and achieved their objectives.
But even if the game had continued through the night, it was clear Bafana were never going to register their name on the score-sheet.
The rescheduled kickoff did not help matters as some supporters boycotted the late kickoff, but frankly, they did not miss anything.
Those who stayed behind were left a disappointed lot as they had expected a lot more from Bafana, but got nothing in return.
Ntshangase should have been an instant hero, but missed a sitter in the dying minutes of the game. He fluffed the chances that would have given Bafana the three points.
Bafana should have done better than their tame first-half performance in which they created just a single chance at goals.
Although they controlled the game well from the midfield, they were a letdown in the third half of the pitch where Gabuza was deployed as a lone ranger. As much as he tried to unlock the opponent’s defence he was isolated and found the going very tough.
Bafana were nearly gifted a goal by the Gambian goalkeeper who failed to deal with Ayanda Patosi’s free kick and was lucky when the ball rolled out for a corner.
Otherwise, Bafana were never impressive in the opening stanza and the injury to Oupa Manyisa compounded their problems on the night.
His replacement, Mandla Masango, injected some energy into the team but still could not unlock the Scorpions’ defence.
Playing against the 160th-ranked Gambia was expected to be a walk in the park for the 69th- ranked Bafana, but once again football demonstrated it is played on the field, not in the boardroom.
The visitors gave as much as they got and were no pushovers as they also had their moments and stretched Bafana.
They wanted to catch Bafana on the break and managed to do so once or twice through the wings, but could not go past Itumeleng Khune in goal. But they always threatened when they were going forward.
Khune had an easy evening as he was never troubled, particularly in the second-half as most of the balls he collected were either ball backs or goal kicks.
But it was at the other end of the field where Bafana should have done better. It was a disappointing night for the national team.
Mashaba has said that the lack of goals is the team’s downfall.
Speaking after the game, he said Bafana should have won the match easily. He said it was clear the visitors had parked the bus.
“We need to work on converting our chances. We created more chances than any team in the world.
“In the first-half, we played into their hands as we didn’t play with width. But I am happy that the boys did their best,” said Mashaba.
“It’s unfortunate we have nothing to show for this as we missed an avalanche of goals.”
