Bafana coach Mashaba wants players to keep hold of the ball
Bafana Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba admitted that their failure to keep hold of the ball was worrying following a 1-1 draw against Ghana in an international friendly in Durban on Tuesday.
Ayanda Patosi cancelled out a Wakasu Mubarak spot kick as South Africa were frustrated at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
The national coach lamented their easy surrendering of possession, saying it was something they had to work on going forward.
“When we lose the ball, we find ourselves wanting,” Mashaba said. “It was difficult for us to regain possession. I won’t say we were sloppy in the first half, but we just couldn’t keep the ball.
“We couldn’t even string passes together and we were giving the ball away, not only in our own half but in our defending third. That allowed Ghana to attack us easily every time we lost the ball.”
South Africa had fallen behind just before half-time, but came back much better after the break – the reward being Patosi’s excellent strike from the edge of the box.
“The first half was very poor,” Mashaba added. “We didn’t play the way we would have liked, but what can we do? We had to give certain players a chance to show us what they can do.
“In the second half you saw, when we brought some players on, a big change happened.
“But there are still a few areas we need to work on, especially when we lose the ball.”
South Africa drew with Burkina Faso away from home in their opening 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier over the weekend and host Senegal in their second game next month.