adminBafana Bafana coach Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba’s journey as national team coach will come to an end today – that is if SA Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan’s post-match interview is interpreted correctly.
Following the 1-1 draw against lowly-placed Mauritania, Jordaan expressed his displeasure before adding that “this must be the end of the journey and not the beginning.” That was either in reference to Mashaba’s tenure as national coach or to the poor performance that has characterised Bafana’s Afcon 2017 qualifying journey.
Bafana finished a disappointing third – with just one win and four draws – in a group comprising Cameroon, Mauritania and Gambia. On paper, Bafana should have qualified with ease. In fact, not just on paper but on the field as well, as they found Cameroon a pale shadow of their former self. They had no business losing 3-1 to Mauritania away or drawing against Gambia. They let Cameroon slip in Durban for the Indomitable Lions were clearly against the ropes.
“This cannot lead us into the 2018 campaign where we will play the giants of the African continent. I hope that the Nelson Mandela Challenge against Egypt will indicate to us that we have a team, determination, the guts and the will to win. What we saw tonight is disappointing,” Jordaan said.
Meanwhile, Kaizer Chiefs are reportedly considering the future of Steve Komphela following a record of just one win in his last 14 official matches in charge.
In addition, the club have lost four of their last six matches in the league and cup, which includes recent defeats to Bidvest Wits and Cape Town City.
While Chiefs recently backed Komphela in the media, it’s thought that the continuing streak of poor results has led to discussions taking place at Naturena over the coach’s future.
Glamour Boys boss Kaizer Motaung recently admitted his feelings on the club’s lacklustre form, saying: “I understand where they (the fans) are coming from, but I probably feel worse than them.”
Soccer Laduma report that Chiefs have discussed potential replacements for Komphela as they plan for the possibility of no improvement in the quality of performances and results.
The publication says that talks are to be organised with the 49-year-old with a view to discussing the way forward for the club as a whole.
Komphela, who has been at Chiefs since the start of the 2015/16 campaign after taking over from Stuart Baxter, has yet to win a trophy at Naturena.
He did come close by reaching two cup finals last season, but Chiefs lost both encounters. Nonetheless, Amakhosi’s coach could face a vote of no confidence if things don’t improve in the near future.— Supersport.
Online Reporter