Bafana coach Hugo Broos satisfied with players' mentality in draw with Lesotho

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos was satisfied with the mentality shown by his players during their 0-0 draw with Lesotho in their preparation match played at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Wednesday. 

In a match played behind closed doors, Broos said he would have liked to win against their unfancied neighbours but his players lacked freshness after a long season and camp in Stellenbosch last week. 

“It was not bad and it was not good either, but as I said before the game, this was a preparation game,” said Broos after the match. 

“We had hard work over the last three to four days and I think we needed a little bit more freshness to beat Lesotho. I am not unhappy, certainly not, because everyone had the opportunity to play. 

“We did what we wanted to do and we saw what we wanted to see. Having played to a 0-0 draw with Lesotho will not have an influence at Afcon but we would have liked to win the game. 

“Everybody is going to talk about the 0-0 draw against Lesotho but you have to see the circumstances, and as I said before the game, this was not even a friendly game for me.” 

Though the performance was not the best, Broos was satisfied with the mentality of the players. 

“We saw what we wanted to see, it was important to see the mentality of the players which was good. I knew that the freshness won’t be there and you could see that. There were some moments in the game where we needed that freshness. 

“I asked the players before the game to show they have good mentality and they wanted to win the game and that’s what I saw. In a few days’ time we will be different, we will be better.” 

South Africa kick off their campaign against Mali at Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo on Tuesday (10pm SA time) and complete their group campaign against Namibia on January 21 and former champions Tunisia on January 24.