Durban – Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos was pleased with the way his side played in “difficult conditions” as they earned a 3-1 win over Ethiopia at the Bahir Dar Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
“It was a difficult game on a difficult pitch. We didn’t need to play the best football today but show character. We showed character by fighting for every opportunity and we won at last. It was a great win,” said Broos.
Bafana had to make an early and unusual change after 35 minutes as Victor Letsoalo came on to replace Tshegofatso Mabasa due to injury. They also had to make an unexpected change just before kickoff after Vincent Pule suffered an unexpected injury and had to be replaced by Thabiso Kutumela.
ALSO READ: Bafana player ratings: Captain’s performance from Ronwen Williams
“It would have been a disappointment for Tshegofatso (Mabasa) but he had difficulties. It was better that we changed him. It’s always a bad thing to replace a player when he is injured. I was afraid but I thought Kutumela did well and the other ten guys who played also fought for 90 minutes,” said Broos.
While the performance from Bafana was certainly not polished nor dominant, the shooting was decent, something that they can take plenty of heart from. Poor shooting has been a problem that has affected Bafana Bafana since the retirement of the likes of Benni McCarthy and Siyabonga Nomvethe.
“I don’t think the pitch was easy. We were afraid when the ball was coming and did not look as confident as we did against Ghana. This was because of the pitch. I don’t understand why an important game in Ethiopia was played on this pitch. We could not do much other than kick and rush as the conditions were difficult,” said Broos.
IOL Sport