Young Bafana was rewarded with a place in the Round of 16 of the Nedbank Cup against Maties FC (away) for “sticking to their guns.
“The defending ABC Motsepe League champions scraped through via penalties (3-1) against Oriented Birds during their preliminary cup match against the newcomers from Plettenberg Bay in Strand over the weekend.
Bafana’s coach Carlos Manuel was clearly a relieved man to start off his tenure on a positive note as he is fully aware they rode their luck at times against the debutants.
“It was our first official match as a new squad and I think that given the circumstances we stuck to our pattern of play, no matter what,” said the former Cape Town Spurs youth coach.
“Even at times when we made mistakes, we still stuck to playing football and not kicking,” he stated.
Manuel, the self-proclaimed “Black Mourinho” added that he was confident his side would pull through after the match ended in a stalemate after 90 minutes.
“When it came to penalties we knew the qualities our goalkeeper has and we trained for penalties in the week.
“As for our kickers we saw in midweek who can take quality penalties, so however anyone wants to put it, luck, a fluke… we made it to the next step and we take it one game at a time.
“Manuel will also draw comfort from the fact that his so-called “second stringers” managed to get them over the line as It gave him a better perspective and insight of his squad.
“Games give you sessions and it gives you an idea of the profile of your players. So, I am always looking to bolster the team in positions where we need to strengthen.
“We have players in the current squad that are outside our club structure.”
Manuel further explains. “As a coach, I am never satisfied as there is always something to take from a game that we need to improve on.
“We went into Saturday’s game pretty much with a second-string team based on the amount of injuries we have currently. This will again be the case for our other encounter but we have to play and fill fixtures with what we have.
“That said, I am proud of the players who filled the fixture. We all have a job to do and the players played their part so the win is all theirs.
“As coaches, we have to believe in every single player in the squad, not just the crucial players – when a squad rotation player or a reserve player sees that you believe in them, they will definitely fight for you,” Manuel concluded.
