Durban - Bafana Bafana played out to an entertaining draw with Guinea on Friday night. As Hugo Broos highlighted before the game, the result of the game does not really matter.
However, Bafana Bafana’s shooting was once again of great concern. They created their fair share of opportunities and should have punished the opposition, especially as the Guinea players looked more concerned with avoiding injuries than exerting themselves, particularly in the first half.
IOL Sport’s Eshlin Vedan looks at three talking points from the game.
Mudau and Shandu should definitely be starters
Khuliso Mudau and Bandile Shandu were making their debuts but it would have been hard to tell that the duo were playing internationally for the first time. They showed good link-up play and overlapped excellently.
Mudau was probably Bafana Bafana’s best player on the day as he recycled possession effectively and orchestrated attacks for his side. There is no doubt that the Guinea players appeared to be noticing the threat of the 26-year-old as it was evident that he was being marked, especially towards the end of the first half.
Thabang Monare proves that senior players should be given a shot
Thabang Monare was a surprise call-up to the most recent Bafana Bafana squad. The Orlando Pirates player is 32-years-old and upon taking charge of the national team last year, Broos showed hesitancy to select players aged 32 and above.
Monare was called up as a result of his strong performances for Pirates in the CAF Confederation Cup and repaid the faith shown in him as he put in a strong performance in both attack and defensively.
In putting in a strong performance, Monare may also have opened the doors for other senior campaigners such as Andile Jali and Themba Zwane to return to the national team if they can deliver strong performances at club level and prove that there is a need for them at national team level.
Bafana Bafana need to up their conversion rate in front of goal
Lyle Foster had his fair share of opportunities in the first half which he missed. Out of Bafana’s 15 shots, 10 were on target. They can be credited for not firing blanks in front of goal which has been a regular feature since the retirement of Benni McCarthy.
However, the shots that Bafana took were all too easy for Ibrahim Kone in goal for Guinea who only had to make one good save from Evidence Makgopa in the second half.
Broos will be hoping that Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Fagrie Lakay can improve his frontline for the game against France.