Durban – Following their third successive goalless draw, Bafana Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba says scoring goals is a nationwide problem.
Bafana ended 0-0 with Gambia in their Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier at Moses Mabhida Stadium, in Durban, on Saturday. Hosts South Africa were also beaten twice on penalties in the Cosafa Cup last month after finishing goalless in two matches in four days.
Despite countless chances, Bafana could not manage a goal against their opponents ranked 160th in the world.
“We’re not going to kill ourselves and it’s just something we need to address,” said Mashaba after the game.
“It’s not only the national team’s problem, it’s from our football at home, it is the biggest problem. All teams play, but they don’t score goals.”
Bafana may be lacking in confidence according to Gambia coach Raoul Savov.
“They missed a lot of chances at the end of the game, we were lucky,” said Savov.
“But they have not been going well the last two or three months. Maybe it’s a lack of confidence, maybe Afcon is still in their heads.”
With striker Tokelo Rantie pulling out of the match due to wedding commitments during the week, his services were severely missed up front. Mashaba, admitted his side needed a clinical striker to find the back of the net.
“People could say that the strike force today was not good but we created chances. We just need that one person that can finish.
“If we had a finisher I think I would be talking different stories. I want to warn people, this is a different level, it’s not what we take it to be.”
Mashaba said the defensive approach of Gambia helped secure the draw for his opponents.
“We knew they were going to come and not even park a bus, but a train at the back,” said Mashaba.
“The boys gave their best. The only thing is scoring goals. In the last 15 minutes we should’ve scored close to three or four goals.”
Thabo Matlaba who missed a number of chances was judged to be man of the match, and he paid tribute to Gambia for sticking to their gameplan.
“Credit must go to Gambia, they’re a good side. We didn’t know about them, I hope they knew about us,” said Matlaba.
“They were tired in the second half but we didn’t convert our chances, we were supposed to bury them but we didn’t.” – ANA