Disappointed but we will bounce back – Mashaba

Bafana Bafana is spending the day reflecting on what could have been after their 3-1 loss to Algeria in the CAF Orange Africa Cup of Nations Equatorial Guinea 2015 tournament.

The match took place on Monday January 19 at the Stade de Mongomo.

On Tuesday morning – January 20 – they had a light training session, spent mainly talking and reflecting on the match. The coach urged the players not to despair.

“We gave the game away, the best team lost after we created so many scoring opportunities in the first half. We allowed them back into the match and we got punished. Lift your heads up, because it is not over, yet there are six points to play for. We have a mountain to climb, but we are still confident that we will do well in our next match,” said coach Shakes Mashaba to his players.

“I know you are all disappointed as this was a match we should not have lost. And it’s also our first loss in 11 matches, but we have to move on and get ready for the next game.”

After the match, Mashaba addressed a media conference at the stadium.

“After we missed that penalty, everything went downhill. But I think we played very well. Algeria was lucky to come back, and we had already lost focus when they clawed their way back. We still have two games to go, the boys did well, but it is unfortunate that you are judged on the results,” said Mashaba.

“I think we need to motivate the boys and bring them to their feet, because understandably they are dejected from the loss. We lost our way at crucial times and the goals we let in were soft goals. The result has made our work more difficult, because the remaining two games are a must-win. The loss of Rivaldo through injury also cost us a lot, and you could see after his departure things became messy at the back.”

Captain of the day, Dean Furman, had this to say.

“It is not the kind of start we wanted; we had worked hard for maximum points so the next two games are crucial for us. We have to lift our heads and go for a win and that’s all we need. The good thing is that we played some outstanding football out there. We are just very disappointed not to come out with a win. We really played very well, but did not convert our chances, something we will have to rectify before our next match,” said Furman.

The good news for South Africa is that they will have the services of Eric Mathoho and Reneilwe Letsholonyane, who were out on suspension.

This was the first time Algeria defeated South Africa in the four games they played – Bafana Bafana won the first and the other two were drawn.

Algeria has three points at the top of Group C, level on points with second-placed Senegal, who defeated Ghana 2-1 in an earlier match. South Africa is bottom of the table just behind Ghana – both have no points.

South Africa next faces Senegal in the second match of the group stages. The clash will be played on Friday January 23 at the Estadio de Mongomo. The kick-off is at 21:00 South African time.

Ghana will face Algeria at the same venue. The kick-off is at 18:00 South African time.