'We threw them in the deep end and they swam. You could see it with Shandre, Puso and Seema,' said the Bafana head coach.
Pitso Mosimane celebrates after Bafana Bafana’s victory over Egypt on Sunday. Picture: Weam Mostafa/BackpagePix
Pitso Mosimane was delighted that his youngsters swam with the sharks and came out winning as Bafana stunned Egypt 1-0 in Cairo in an international friendly on Sunday evening.
Bafana youngsters shine
22-year-old Puso Dithejane netted the winning goal on his Bafana debut, while 21-year-old Shandre Campbell provided the assist in the 51st minute for Dithejane.
Orlando Pirates’ 23-year-old centre back Lebone Seema was superb, meanwhile, in the first half against an Egypt side ranked as the third best on the continent.
A much-changed Bafana had a shaky start at the Cairo International Stadium, but recovered their poise and ended up finishing the week with three wins out of three. They are in pole position in 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying Group D after a 2-1 home win over Guinea and a 5-0 victory away to Eritrea.
“It was a little bit difficult in the first five minutes,” said Mosimane after the Egypt match.
“We could not find our feet. That is normal we brought the younger ones in and it took a little time to gel. As the game progressed we gained confidence.
“We had a lot of players to play (all 30 members of the squad got some game time over the three matches). We needed to give them a chance, to let them swim with the sharks, we threw them in the deep end and they swam. You could see it with Shandre, Puso and Seema.”
Mosimane coached Cairo giants Al Ahly for two years and his knowledge of the Egyptian game certainly seemed to help Bafana.
“I know the Egyptian team, the balls always come from the full backs. (Mohamed) Hany was my player (at Ahly). (Omar) Marmoush was a problem, he is fast but Lebone is quick (too).
“At least I didn’t change a lot at centre back. I didn’t want Lebone to play alone so I kept Ime (Okon). I promised (Khulumani) Ndamane he would come on for the second half.”
Mosimane also praised goalkeeper Ricardo Goss, who came on in the latter stages and produced two superb saves to keep Bafana in front.
‘Goss saved us’
“Goss saved us in the last 15 minutes,” he said.
“And we mustn’t forget (Sipho) Chaine, he was captain on the day. I said we would use different captains and he did well.”
Bafana will now play Kenya home-and-away in two 2027 AFCON qualifiers in November. The Harambee Stars are coached by Bafana legend Benni McCarthy.
“They won’t allow us to win easily,” warned Mosimane.
“Benni is a fighter by profession and has a big heart for football. It will be difficult for us. Those games will determine our fate before we go to Guinea (next year). Let’s see how we deal with Kenya.”
