Pitso Mosimane delighted as Bafana Bafana newcomers secure Egypt win

Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane praised his inexperienced players after South Africa beat Egypt 1-0 in a friendly at Cairo International Stadium on Sunday.

Puso Dithejane scored the only goal on his international debut, finishing after being set up by fellow substitute Shandre Campbell, who was also making his first appearance for the national team.

Mosimane had rested several established players, including Ronwen Williams, Relebohile Mofokeng and Oswin Appollis, and selected a side largely made up of newcomers and fringe players.

The coach admitted South Africa struggled to settle during the opening stages after making so many changes.

“It was a little bit difficult to see the first five minutes. We couldn’t find our feet. It’s normal because we brought the younger ones… we changed the whole team, so it takes a little bit of time to gel,” Mosimane said.

However, he was encouraged by the way the team grew into the contest and by the willingness of the new players to take responsibility.

“As the game progressed, we gained confidence. What I like is that they [new players] are not afraid to play. We need to give them a chance… I let them swim with the sharks, threw them in the deep end, and they swam,” he added.

Mosimane singled out Campbell, Dithejane and Lebone Seema for praise, while saying the match had given him a chance to assess alternatives to some of his regular selections.

“It was good to see Shandre, Puso and all the younger ones. Seema had a big game… we had to put Ndamane. It was also good to bring them Basadien,” the Bafana Bafana coach said.

“We had to rest Appollis, Rele… we don’t need them for this match because we wanted to see what other options we had at this level. There’s no better game to give new players a chance than this one… let them swim and drown and come out. They did come out.”

The victory was Mosimane’s third in succession since he began his second spell in charge of Bafana Bafana. South Africa had beaten Guinea and Eritrea in the first two Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers a few days earlier.

Despite those results, Mosimane stressed that qualification has not yet been secured. Bafana Bafana sit top of Group D after two rounds of matches, but face a decisive double-header against Kenya next month.

Kenya are coached by Benni McCarthy, Bafana Bafana’s all-time record scorer, and Mosimane expects his former international colleague to provide a stern test.

“We have to qualify for Afcon. It looks good now, but we haven’t arrived. We have Kenya back-to-back. Benni will never allow us to win easily… he’s a fighter by nature. Those two games will determine our fate before we go to Guinea,” Mosimane said.