After cruising past Lesotho in Bloemfontein on Friday night, Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos took a swipe at the neighbours, saying that games are won on the pitch and not off it.
This is at the back of Lesotho’s threat building up to the game that they will play under protest if Bafana dares to include key midfielder Teboho Mokoena in the match-day squad.
Mokoena featured in Bafana’s 2-0 win over Likuena in the first leg at the Peter Mokaba Stadium five months ago, despite being ineligible to play after picking up two yellow cards in previous matches.
Broos was, however, unfazed by the frivolous threats. He named Mokoena in the starting line-up, and the Mamelodi Sundowns workhorse played a pivotal role in Bafana’s 3-0 win over Lesotho at the Free State Stadium.
Only pitch battles decide games
“I think we deserve to win the game and that shows again that you only win games on the pitch and not off the pitch,” Broos said after the game.
“You know, sometimes you have a bad feeling, and I must be honest, I’ve had that bad feeling during the past days. I will not go into detail, but what happened in the past days [Lesotho posing threats] is not normal. So it was so important for us to win the game, and that’s what we did.
“Now we will see next week when we play against Nigeria. If God is with us, we can maybe qualify already next Tuesday for the World Cup, and that stays the goal for us.”
The result against Lesotho means Bafana are now on 16 points and have stretched their lead at the top of Group C with five points over second-placed Benin with three games remaining.
Lesotho, on the other hand, remains in position five with six points, while Nigeria is in fourth place with seven points, and Zimbabwe is at the bottom of the group with four points.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria will be in action on Saturday evening at home against a tough Rwanda side.
