Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso - Shakes Mashaba reacting to what many feel were two dropped points after Bafana Bafana took the lead late in the second half of their opening 2018 World Cup qualifier against hosts Burkina Faso at the Stade du 4 Aout on Saturday night, said his side did not know how to close down a game, which led to the hosts grabbing an equaliser in referee’s optional time to end a pulsating encounter here in a 1-1 draw.
The coach brought on defender Abbubaker Mobara for attacker Thulani Serero six minutes after Dean Furman had broken the deadlock. But Bafana just could not withstand the pressure and goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune, who had kept South Africa in the game by saving a penalty in between some breathtaking stops throughout, was eventually beaten by Banou Diawara.
“A point is a good result, but we were aiming for all three points until we conceded late,” said Mashaba. “This is where we need to sit with our players and teach them how to calculate times and read the game. It was a crucial and critical phase of the match and we should have approached it differently. After we scored, we should have frustrated them by making sure the ball is always in their half and we keep the possession as much as we can. But we did the opposite, losing the ball in our own half at that critical time.
“I am happy that we were able to score away from home, maybe that can make our task easy in the upcoming match.”
Having arrived in Ouagadougou under extreme pressure to get the qualifiers off to a good start following Bafana’s failure to make it to next year’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Gabon, a draw on the road - where the national team has never won a World Cup qualifier on two occasions prior to Saturday night’s Group D clash - was half decent. But Mashaba said his men now need to improve on their poor home record.
“I think we have to look at being a bit more clinical in our own backyard,” the coach said. “The teams we played in previous qualifiers gave us problems in their own homes. We are not so aggressive when we are at home. So we need to try and adjust that. But it is going to take some time. We are not winning games where we should be because when you play away you either avoid defeat or you go all out for victory. We need a change of mindset for things to go our way in front of our own fans.”
Mashaba held back on criticising Moroccan referee Redouane Jiyed for giving two penalties, which were both squandered by The Stallions. The match official also sent Bafana assistant coach Owen da Gama to the stands late in the second half.
“When it comes to officiating, whether you grumble or growl, it won’t change,” he said. “The referees are human and tend to make mistakes that are costly because once they take a decision, they can’t change it. What if Burkina Faso scored both those penalties? It would have been a serious problem.”
Senegal beat Cape Verde 2-0 in Dakar in the other group match to go top of the log.
Bafana’s remaining 2018 World Cup qualifiers
November 12, 2016 v Senegal, Peter Mokaba Stadium
August 28, 2017 v Cape Verde (away)
September 2, 2017 v Cape Verde (home, venue TBC)
October 2, 2017 v Burkina Faso (home, venue TBC)
November 6, 2017 v Senegal (away)
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The Star