Williams backs Bafana strikers to fire against Liberia

Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams is hopeful the flurry of in-form Bafana Bafana attackers can help lead South Africa to the Africa Cup of Nations finals.

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South Africa will take on Liberia at Orlando Stadium on Friday and again in Monrovia on Tuesday, and six points will guarantee them a place at the finals in the Ivory Coast next year.

Bafana’s woes in front of goal have been well documented, but at the moment they have several strikers in good form. Cassius Mailula has been rattling in the goals for Mamelodi Sundowns, while Lyle Foster has his first goal for Burnley in England, Percy Tau has also been hitting the back of the net of late for Al Ahly, and Bongokuhle Hlongwane is already off the mark in the Major Soccer League season in the US.

“It is amazing,” said Williams this week.

“We have always cried as a country that we don’t have goalscorer, we have got a few now.

“We need to cherish it and help them … and make sure the backline keeps a clean sheet,” added the Bafana goalkeeper.

“Once we do the job there I am sure they will do the job up front. All of them are scoring, even Zakes Lepasa scored a brace (for SuperSport). It is good for them and good for us and hopefully they can carry that form into the Bafana set up.”

Raising spirits

Williams, meanwhile, wants to help Bafana reach the Afcon finals to help raise the spirits of a nation clearly going through a lot at the moment.

“We know what Bafana means to the country and that we bring hope,” said Williams. We don’t have to look far back to see what the rugby team did at the (2019) World Cup and see what it inspired.

“We know how important sport is to society and people are looking up to us. There are so many negatives going around, so the little we can do is important. The boys just need to know that they are not only doing this for themselves, but for the country as well.”