The tinkering to the Bafana Bafana starting line-up for tonight’s friendly match against Mozambique at the Estadio do Zimpeto will be left to assistant coach Owen da Gama, but is likely to still have Shakes Mashaba’s touch.
Following a show of disrespect towards his Safa bosses on Saturday at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane after the national team’s 2-1 victory over Senegal in a crucial 2018 World Cup qualifier, Mashaba was suspended from travelling with his side to Maputo and faces a disciplinary hearing.
The coach told the press in Polokwane that he was planning to ring the changes, with striker Lars Veldwijk expected to make his Bafana debut having received his first call-up and was an unused substitute against Senegal at the weekend.
Da Gama will most probably follow the plan in a friendly encounter that will be Bafana’s final match of a difficult year for the technical team as they failed to qualify for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) to be held in Gabon two months from now.
Veldwijk, who was born in The Netherlands and has a South African father, was widely tipped to start the Senegal game before he even kicked a ball for Bafana.
Mashaba, after seeing him first-hand in a training session last week, opted to leave him on the bench, with Eleazer Rodgers starting and Bradley Grobler taking his place later on in the match.
Belgium-based Ayanda Patosi is another player expected to get a run against Mozambique tonight, even though he will be disappointed that he has hardly had a look in during World Cup qualifiers.
Due to visa issues, Patosi arrived late in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, for Bafana’s 1-1 draw against the Stallions in their opening match in Group D last month and sat in the stands.
With Bafana tied on four points with Burkina Faso, who beat Cape Verde 2-0 on Saturday night to top the group on goal difference, this away friendly will be played under less strenuous circumstances. It also allows the technical team to try out a few combinations and rest a few of the Mamelodi Sundowns players who are slowly breaking down because they are overloaded following non-stop football action on their way to winning the African Champions League a few weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Da Gama returns to the dugout having watched Bafana beat Senegal from the stands as he was serving a touchline suspension.
The SA assistant coach was sent off in Ouagadougou for a relentless protest at the poor officiating in that 1-1 stalemate at the Stade du 4 Aout.
Follow Mazola Molefe on Twitter@superjourno
The Star