10 Jun 2018

The Zebras succumbed to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of COSAFA hosts, Bafana Bafana in the final of the plate cup played at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium on Friday.

The victory handed a second consecutive plate cup to Bafana Bafana who were eager to redeem their pride after failing to make it to the main cup final.

Zebras coach Major David Bright was forced to reshuffle his cards in the starting line-up after the team’s captain Alphose Modisaotsile was ruled out for the final.

Bright then called upon Tebogo Sosome to fill the void while upfront Gilbert Baruti found a place in the starting berth in place of Kgamanyane who was relegated to the bench.

Meanwhile, Stuart Baxter named an equally strong starting lineup but had to deploy Maphosa Modiba in the midfield in the absence of Fortune Macaringe who was serving a suspension of accumulative yellow cards.

Both sides trod cautiously in the opening exchanges but it was South Africa who dictated the game enjoying a good amount of possession while Bright’s men had their fair share of possession. But this was only in their own half.

Lesenya Ramoraka was pinned down the field by Siphesihle Ndlovu on the left-hand side, thereby denying the attacking fullback any adventurous runs forward.

Bafana Bafana made their intentions clear as early as the 18^th after Ndlovu made a clever run behind Ramoroka but the Bafana attacker steered his effort wide of Mwampole Masule’s goal.

Just after the half-hour mark of play, it was now one-way traffic as Zebras faced an onslaught from their counterparts. On the 38^th minute, Baxter’s men were not to be kept at bay any longer after Modiba delivered a telling cross that was headed home by Motjeka Madisha beating Masule who was rooted to the spot left only to question his backline’s inability to deal with aerial balls.

After taking the lead Bafana took the foot off the pedal to head to the halftime break with a 1-0 lead over a seemingly off colour Zebras side that failed to fashion even a single shot on target.From the interval the Zebras clicked into gear in the opening minutes, the local boys were nearly put back into parity after Maikano peeled away from a defender to latch on to a corner but his header missed the far post by a whisker.

Worryingly in arrears Bright brought in Mohutsiwa for the seemingly fatigued Modingwane to try and stabilise the midfield. While still trying to find that elusive equaliser the Zebras were caught on the break after Ndlovu stormed with a run from his own half to profit from Maboe’s timely pass and Ndlovu selflessly teed up a pass that eliminated Masule to the oncoming Modiba for an easy tap-in.

South Africa put the game to bed after Maboe profited from Sosome’s astray pass and with the keeper at his mercy Maboe made no mistake and converted the chance to end the game at 3-0.

In his postmatch conference, Bright commended his players for their performance throughout the tournament given the intensity and congestion of games.

“It was clear to see in today’s final, the boys were tired hence they easily lost concentration the way we conceded those goals could not make that any clearer,” he said. The former Gaborone United tactician also highlighted that it was very important for COSAFA to introspect on the format of the tournament explaining that having to play six games in 12 days takes the sting out of players especially in the closing stages of the tournament where it mattered most.

 “As a team we have had a great time and experience here. I brought this young squad to help some of them gain exposure and also get used to the national team set up and I am grateful we have achieved all that. Some these players will form part of my final squad for the AFCON qualifiers which is our main focus,” explained Bright. ENDS