'We will make Bafana suffer': Liberia coach Ansumana Keita declares war on Broos' men

Liberia coach Ansumana Keita has promised to make the troubled Bafana Bafana suffer even more when they meet in the second leg of the crucial African Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier in Monrovia on Tuesday. 

Liberia sparked hysteria among South Africans, at least those who care about football and the ever-disappointing national team, when they came from two goals down to hold them to a 2-2 draw in the first leg at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg on Friday. 

Lyle Foster, who plays for Burnley in the English Championship, scored a brace in the first half only for Tonia Tisdell and Mohammed Sangare, who plays in England third tier League One, to equalise in the final stanza. 

That result has left Bafana’s chances of qualifying for the tournament in Ivory Coast next year hanging by a thread. 

A defeat for the Hugo Broos-coached Bafana to the minnows in Liberia will see them fail to make another Afcon after they were absent in Cameroon last year. 

This is a big twist as everyone expected Bafana to walk all over Liberia, who are ranked 150th in the world compared to their opponents who are in 67th position, to finish second in Group K after Morocco. 

Keita, who recently took over the coaching reins, has vowed to embarrass South Africa more by knocking them out of the race as his side is better prepared than the 1996 Afcon winners. 

“What I’m telling you is (that we have) a tactical strategy we will use to make South Africa suffer,” Keita said after the match on Friday. 

“We want to win and we are not going to choke. We are going to play, no matter what happens we will play. 

“South Africa is bigger than us in football everywhere but we are more prepared than them at this time. Mentally, physically, technically and tactically we are prepared. I’m unapologetic and I’m telling the truth. At home, we are prepared.” 

To say Bafana were poor against Liberia would be an understatement. Their performance, especially in the second half, didn’t depict that of a team which has players in England, other parts of Europe, Egypt and the so-called world-class Premier Soccer League. 

They missed chances like it is going out of fashion and hardly played as a team and Keita was not surprised at all. 

“We knew Bafana Bafana would miss a lot of goals, but that’s football, one has to miss and one has to capitalise on that. We kept our calm, defended well,” Keita said. 

“I said to my players, in the dressing room, if Bafana score 100, we will score 100. So, when they score don’t worry, keep calm, focus and let’s go. 

“It was difficult for us (because) it’s a new team, new generation and we had other new players from Europe. You know it’s tough in Africa, so they had to adapt and we knew that we would suffer.”   

The coach also expects the Liberians to be motivated by the fact that they will be playing on home soil for the first time in three years as they now have a stadium that meets Confederation of Africa Football standards. 

“Liberians are hungry and the result of today could motivate them,” Keita said. 

“Trust me when I say before 8am or 9am the stadium would be packed already. The Liberians will be there to support their team.  

“And Bafana Bafana here is a message for you, we are going to compete there. We will compete and we will play them.”

The game at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex will kickoff at 6pm SA time.

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