Zebras favoured to beat Amabinneplaas

BOITUMELO KHUTSAFALO
Staff Writer | Friday March 12, 2010 00:00

 

With Bafana Bafana in Brazil for a training camp ahead of the 2010 World Cup, South African Football Association (SAFA) has sent a bunch of average players called Amabinneplaas to face the Zebras.

Some of the players in the team have failed to command a first team jersey at their clubs while some are on the verge of being offloaded. It is not clear what South Africa wants to achieve with a squad that contains over the hill players.  Some of the players who have been finding it difficult to break in to their teams' line-up include the likes of Orlando Pirates' Joseph Makhanya, Mamelodi Sundowns' Thuso Phala and Kaizer Chiefs' Mthokosizi Yende.

After failing to qualify for the 2010 AFCON, the Zebras cannot afford to miss out on the 2012 AFCON and the CHAN competition presents coach Stanley Tshosane with the opportunity to evaluate the strength of his squad. It is expected that the Zebras will be fired up for the match especially after beating Mozambique 1-0 away in a friendly international last week.  While the team consists of seasoned players like Mompati Thuma, Tshepo Motlhabankwe and Michael Mogaladi, there are some names who are yet to cement their places in the national squad and this is the perfect opportunity for them to prove their mettle. The likes of Jabu Pilane, Patrick Lenyeletse and Sekhana Koko have been doing well at club level and Tshosane has finally rewarded them with a call up. The left back position seems to have been sorted with ECCO City Greens' Ontse Ntesa on top of his game. But there have been doubts over the right back position although Musa Ohilwe has not performed badly. The return of Motlhabankwe who is naturally a right back should be a major boost.

Tshosane told Mmegi Sport yesterday that preparations have been running smoothly except the fact that Township Rollers' striker, Aubrey Kebonnetse has been forced to pull out of the team because of an injury he picked in a practice match against Police XI yesterday. Modiri Marumo has been dropped as the regulations of the competition still view him as a foreign-based player since he has not joined a local team after a sojourn in Egypt.

No one has been called up to replace the experienced goalkeeper since there are already two custodians in camp, Kabelo Dambe and Basimanebotlhe Moilwa.

Tshosane said that as far as he is concerned, South Africa is not underestimating the Zebras or the competition as they had no choice because the other Bafana Bafana players are in camp in Brazil. He said the Zebras have some inexperienced players who are expected to get exposure in the competition before the AFCON qualifiers. There have been question marks about the pricing of the tickets for the game.

With South Africa bringing a third choice squad and with the number of supporters attending Zebras' games dwindling, the prices are said to be steep.

The grand stand will cost P100, which will also include a Vee/Zebras' CD extra. The East stand costs P75 and include some unnamed Orange goodies. The North and South stands cost P50 including Orange goodies.