Mashaba soft on players

weekend’s All-Africa Games qualifier.
Before the team’s Olympic qualifier against Benin, Mashaba confiscated the players’ iPads, iPods, cellphones and laptops, which he thought would distract them from concentrating on the job at hand.
The South African Under-23 side responded with a 5-1 demolition of the West Africans, which overturned a 3-1 first leg deficit and allowed AmaGlug-glug to sail through to the group stages of the competition.
Mashaba’s boys carry a 2-0 lead to Zimbabwe and Mashaba says he will allow the players to use their gadgets, although emphasising that the game is as important as that against Benin.
“I will allow them to use their gadgets this time,” a laughing Mashaba told KickOff.com.
“I need them to be serious and that can only come with maximum concentration, but I also understand that things have changed and these boys belong to the world of technology.
“They will use their gadgets this time because I now know that they are also as serious as I am about winning this tie.” Despite his team leading 2-0 going to Harare, Mashaba says that is not enough as the hosts can still overturn that lead and adds that he expects a dogfight.
Should the Young Warriors fail to overturn the deficit, the South Africans will realise their dream of sailing through to the 10th edition of the quadrennial event that will be held in Mozambique later this year.
“We will attack them from the first whistle and try and get that early break, which will then allow us to sit back on them,” adds Mashaba.
“If you heard him after the first game, the Zimbabwean coach (Friday Phiri) was spitting fire and that means we must expect a tough battle from them, so we go there prepared for the worst.
“We are not afraid of them though because we have players who are capable of doing the job for us.”
The coach is also mindful of his hosts’ desperation to win the second leg tie. “Zimbabwe’s progress to the games also depends on the outcome of this game, so they might call up all their best players and we will not be surprised to find Knowledge Musona there waiting for us. “A good factor for us is that we have been to Zimbabwe before and they have excellent facilities for us to play our best game.
“I have also spoken to our ladies team officials who are playing the Cosafa games there and they have told us that the weather is fine.
“We do not expect a hostile atmosphere from officials because Zimbabwe is as good as home for us.” – Kick Off.com