Durban - An inexperienced Bafana Bafana were bundled out of the Hollywoodbets COSAFA Cup at the quarter final stage by Mozambique on post match penalties on Wednesday evening.
The squad of players assembled by Bafana Assistant coach Helman Mkhalele consisted off players under the age of 23 but gave a spirited performance very few would've expected from them even though the results didn't go their way.
'Midnight Express' who is the most senior in the technical team for the duration of the tournament expressed his disappointment at not being able to defend the cup they won last year however shared a positive perspective at the post match press conference.
"First and foremost I like the fact that they're disappointed about the result but now they know what's always at stake and what it feels like to lose a match for the national team," he said.
"I also said to them they should be proud of themselves, they produced a brilliant fight even though we couldn't get the results that we wanted and we're also gonna encourage them to be analytical of themselves because I can't be the only person telling them what to improve on.
"You could see the disappointment on their faces and having been through that myself I totally understand what the players are going through, I was lucky enough to have experienced players around me when I went through my disappointments at that age."
Bafana will now contest in the Loser's section of the COSAFA Cup and will face Botswana in the Plate Semi Final on Friday at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium.
Beyond this tournament 'Amaglug-glug' have a crucial Olympic Games qualifying hurdle to overcome and Mkhalele reiterated one of the key elements that the technical team focused within the camp.
"One of the objectives of this camp was to work on the mindset of these players, handing them the right understanding of approaching each game with importance and the right attitude.
"We are trying to teach them that for as long as they don the national team jersey they will be expected to perform and playing in the plate section of the competition doesn't alter that mindset."
One of the considerations made behind the selection process was the need to establish and nurture players that would slot into the senior Bafana squad and coach Mkhalele believes some of the boys that took part against Madagascar certainly showed they could form a part of the Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying squad.
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