Bafana Bafana head coach for the COSAFA Cup Morena Ramoreboli, has refused to be drawn into making excuses after his side failed to win the opening match of the tournament.
The South African men's football side had to fight back from a goal down to salvage a draw against 118th-ranked Namibia at the King Zwelithini Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Ramoreboli, who won the tournament with Bafana two years ago, had to manoeuvre numerous obstacles in assembling his squad this time around.
The tournament played by the southern African region nations is in a direct clash with clubs' pre-season preparations which have resulted in a reluctance to release players.
Bafana Bafana head coach for the COSAFA Cup Morena Ramoreboli, has refused to be drawn into making excuses after a frustrating draw with Namibia.
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Bafana played in patches in the first half, and went a goal down just before half time.
However, Ramoreboli has refused to use his pre-tournament challenges as a shield, revealing that he felt his side should've produced a more convincing showing in the opening stanza.
“I don't want to start making excuses, the fact that I have been an amateur coach where I would train seven players but have a squad of 25 on matchday has helped me adapt to these situations,” he told the media.
He further explained: “So for me, it was never about how many friendly games we played, it was about our performance today. Guys like (Iqraam) Rayners and (Sibongiseni) Mthethwa did not play a friendly game with us, but we allowed those that played the friendly game with us because we wanted consistency.”
“But because we managed to get that friendly game, the performance was was supposed to be so much better than this.”
Bafana found it incredibly difficult to breakdown the Brave Warriors, needing Rowan Human, who came on as part of four halftime substitutes to rescue a point in the match.
Ramoreboli also paid huge compliments to his counterparts for a plan well put together and executed.
“I was not surprised by Namibia’s approach, I'm still expecting the same from Botswana and Swaziland, when you play a team that's technically and tactically superior the best way to go is to defend in number and honestly speaking, the coach got it right,” said Ramoreboli.
“We were also playing against a competitive team, I think we're gonna have to accept that as much as we wanted to win but we’ll take the point and prepare better for the next game.”
Bafana will next take to the field on Saturday as they battle log-leading Botswana at the King Zwelithini Stadium.
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IOL Sport