Johannesburg - An unlikely venue, as well as a new face upfront all sum up Bafana Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba’s desperation to change his side’s fortunes at home.
The senior men’s football team returns to the Peter Mokaba Stadium for the first time in two years for Saturday’s 2018 World Cup qualifier against Senegal, dragging along with them striker Lars Veldwijk who has a South African father but had never set foot in the country until Monday.
Bafana’s opener on their journey to Russia ended in a 1-1 draw away to Burkina Faso at the Stade du 4 Aout in Ouaga-dougou last month. Although a credible result on the road, Mashaba is now under immense pressure to beat Group D leaders Senegal - anything less than a victory this weekend could have dire conse-quences for the coach.
Mashaba bemoaned a lack of killer instinct from his men when they broke the deadlock against the Burkinabe and survived two penalties, only to allow the hosts to grab a crucial point by netting the equaliser with virtually the last kick of the game. He wouldn’t draft Belgian-based Veldwijk into his 25-man squad if he didn’t believe the KV Kortrijk forward has got some goals in him. And the crowd in Polokwane is usually less critical of Bafana despite them failing to score the last time they were there for a 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Congo-Brazzaville, which ended in a stalemate at a rain-soaked Peter Mokaba Stadium but still left Bafana top of their group at the time.
The status quo hasn’t changed, however, with wins hard to come by for Mashaba on home soil.
Out of 10 crucial qualifiers for both the World Cup and the Afcon in his tenure to date, Bafana have only managed to win twice and both those victories were at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban against Sudan two years ago and Angola in November last year. The coach has not given any reasons for choosing Polokwane for this crunch match against a formidable Senegal side, but it is likely that the decision on the venue was financially motived rather than taken to give Bafana an edge - if any - over their opposition.
On the goal drought, Mashaba is experimenting again and really has no alternative in solving this crisis.
Away in Ouagadougou, the coach surprisingly dropped Thamsanqa Gabuza in favour of Eleazer Rodgers, a man who was making only his second appearance for the national team. Ahead of facing Senegal, Mashaba has omitted his trusted forward in Gabuza, recalled Rodgers and included little known Dutch-born Veldwijk as well as brought the SuperSport United duo of Thuso Phala and Bradley Grobler out of the cold. Desperate times call for desperate measures, as the old adage goes.
The tide could turn in the 3pm kick-off this Saturday, but Bafana’s record against Senegal isn’t a glittering one with seven matches played between the two sides and four ending in draws, while two defeats are sandwiched in between a single victory.
Here is something to hold on to, though: Mashaba is the only Bafana coach to get one over the Lions of Teranga.
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The Star