Bafana Bafana head coach, Hugo Broos, conceded a proverbial own goal when he initially failed to honour the mandatory post-match press conference after his side threw away a 2-0 lead and a couple of clear-cut chances against Liberia in the 2024 Afcon qualifier at Orlando Stadium on Friday night. The game finished 2-2 as The Lone Stars clawed their way back into the match.
To say the result was disappointing would be an understatement! Bafana had no business playing to a draw in a game that they took control of as early as in the first half, subsequent to the penalty kick that was converted by Lyle Foster after Percy Tau was fouled by the opposition goalkeeper (Tommy Songo) inside the box. From there onwards, the game looked a one-way traffic and that proved to be the case when Foster took full advantage of an exquisite Teboho Mokoena corner kick to record his brace. From then on, it was almost mission accomplished with Bafana dictating terms, although they remained wasteful in front of goal. Bafana should have gone to the break leading by no less than five goals if they had just brought their scoring boots and made better decisions in the final third. Their poor showing allowed Liberia to come back into the game. Any footballer, even at amateur level, will know how dangerous a 2-0 scoreline can be in a football match. All it takes is just one goal from the opposition and, before you know it, it is game on! Every footballer will know how important it is to kill the opposition off when they are there for the taking, instead of trying to be flashy about it.
This is a game that Bafana should have wrapped up in the first half and kill it off as a contest so that the coach could give his 'fringe' players a chance and rest his regulars early in the second half. That's how you freshen up your squad and this is what forward thinking and planning ahead dictates. We all knew there's travelling in-between the two games and unfavourable playing conditions awaiting us on the other side. With the players and technical team thinking ahead of time, approaching back-to-back fixtures, especially starting at home, should be about killing the game as soon as possible so that you can manage the squad. Some of these players report to the national team on the back of a hectic club football schedule, so they need to be managed properly lest they get fatigued. Squad management demands that games against teams like Liberia, with all due respect to them, you kill in the first 30-40 minutes so that you have an unassailable lead in order for the coach to freshen up the team early in the second half, without impacting the game and momentum negatively. By so doing, you're killing two birds with one stone in the sense that you will get to rest some of your key players while giving your 'fringe' players a run so that you maximise your squad.
By the time you get to the second leg, you have fresher regulars, with some minutes under the belt for your 'fringe' players. You'd think that's common sense! It just didn't prove to be the case on Friday night, at all! Much as coach Broos has to take the blame, our players deserve an equal share of the pie as well. There was really no need for us to play to a draw against Liberia if we are serious about not only qualifying but competing at the next Afcon tournament. What happened to game management? The players should be leading one another on the field of play to ensure that they stay on top of their game, fully focused all the time. If you can't score, as we kept on missing easy chances, then you protect the lead with everything you have so that the opposition doesn't find the back of the net either. That's how selfish you have to be on the field of play and our players shouldn't be exempted from the public's brunt and scrutiny. The coach refusing to take part in the mandatory post-match press conference citing emotions, embarrassment, disappointment and what have you was nothing short of lack of leadership and gross disrespect not only to the Fourth Estate but the whole country as well.
That was a silly own goal conceded by coach Broos and his apology was just not enough because the buck stops with him! It was good for the media to refuse to speak to assistant coach, Helman Mkhalele, who was politely turned down for an engagement. "Midnight Express" is one of the legends everyone adores and it would have been unfair to hear from him, and not the coach, after such a disappointing result. You don't do the pre-match talk and then, when the results don't favour you, pass the baton on to your assistant. It just doesn't work like that. You don't coach when it is fashionable and then avoid the media when things go south. That's not responsible leadership at all. You take the bullet for the team in front of the camera, and when the cameras are off in the change room, you let your players know exactly how you feel. At 70, no one needs to tell coach Broos how to handle his affairs because the man has been around, seen and done it all. It was embarrassing, distasteful and downright disrespectful for him to act the way he acted on Friday night and that should be the first and last time it happened! He's only human, we all get that. He's emotional and disappointed, we all get that, but what about the South Africans who put him in charge of the national team? Leadership comes with accountability and should Bafana not make it to Ivory Coast, God forbid, there will be a lot to account for on the coach's shoulders.
One hopes by the time you get to read this column, Bafana would have made us proud and redeemed themselves in Liberia with an emphatic win to prove they've learned from their mistakes in the first leg, difficult a match as it will be. We only have ourselves to blame for the situation we find ourselves in. Should we get a negative result we will look no further than the first leg against Liberia. Remember, coach Broos said the media can kill him if the team fails to qualify for the next Afcon and maybe, just maybe, his words kept ringing in his ears after the final whistle on Friday and he felt his fragile heart wouldn't take the pressure at all. He conceded an own goal, but he has to remember that he's got to respect the country and understand the responsibility that is attached to being the national team coach. If he continues in that wrong vein, he will be playing into the hands of those who feel he's a law unto himself and looks down on everyone and everything South African. Surely that is not the impression or perception our coach wants our people to have about him. Your behaviour on Friday night left much to be desired, coach! Let's hope that was the last time we saw that side of you because that's not what we signed up for. It is certainly not something we expect from the number one coach in the country. You can do better than that!
On a separate note, no one wants to be the bearer of bad news, but sometimes it just has to be done. We are saddened to announce the cover price increase of your favourite football publication with effect from next week. We have tried to delay it for as much as we could, but with the current inflation rate, paper and fuel price increases, it has become impossible for us to keep avoiding the inevitable. From next week, Soccer Laduma will cost R7 and we are sincerely sorry we have to do this in these trying economic times, but we left no stone unturned in trying to avoid it for some time now. We bank on your unwavering support to understand this decision and how difficult it was to even reach it, knowing what everyone has been going through for the past three years!
Cheers,
VeeJay
