Mongomo - The order to “shoot!” has been ringing in the ears of the Bafana Bafana attackers at training over the past few days ahead of Tuesday’s match against Ghana.
The South Africans have been guilty of not pulling the trigger in their first two group matches at the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea.
Bafana lost their first match against Algeria 3-1 and drew 1-1 with Senegal.
In both those matches, they created more scoring chances than the opposition.
They are getting into such good positions to hurt the opposition, but a reluctance to take a first-time shot has seen them only convert two chances so far in this tournament.
Over-elaboration has been the biggest problem, as the forwards either take too many touches or trying shift responsibility to a teammate in a better position. Some of the foreign journalists have joked that Bafana want to be like Barcelona and pass the ball into the back of the net.
With their participation on the line, striker Bernard Parker says they are going have a lot more pots from outside the penalty area to try and improve their abysmal conversion rate at Afcon.
“The coach has asked us many times when are we going to shoot. It’s just up to us as players to pick our moments. (Dean) Furman had a shot that hit the crossbar, and some of the other guys have had shots,” Parker said on Sunday.
“If we do take more shots and try and go direct, maybe we can get an opportunity we can get a corner or even a rebound. But the coach has been stressing about that.”
But Parker says they are not going to neglect their quick-passing game, which has won Bafana a lot of fans at this tournament.
But this is not a popularity contest, where you get marks for style. This is Afcon and you have to get the ball into the back of the net to win matches. It’s as simple as that.
Somebody has got to take responsibility upfront.
Parker and his teammates know this.
“I think with our ability as South Africans, we are good in combining and clicking well in the final third. But we don’t get the final pass right or take the initiative,” Parker said.
“I don’t think we are aggressive enough in taking the responsibility in the final third. So what’s happening, we tend to play according to strengths by trying to combine, but maybe we over do it in terms of making too many passes.
“The way combine, since it’s in our blood as South Africans, we play our one-twos and combinations. Maybe we should just finish it off. Maybe this time around we should shoot more often. I think we have learned a lot from what has happened and we know what to do now.”
Bafana need to beat Ghana at the Estadio de Mongomo and hope for a Senegal win against Algeria in Malabo to qualify for the quarters. If Algeria win, Bafana need to thrash Ghana to better their goal difference. A draw in Malabo will see Bafana pack their bags no matter what they do against the Black Stars.
“We can get through with a little bit of luck. Hopefully Senegal help us, because I believe that we can beat Ghana and progress to the next round,” said Parker.
Ghana are still in the running to top the group if they beat Bafana and Senegal fail to get victory over Algeria.
So that’s why both Algeria and Senegal will be wary of playing for a draw, because they could end up missing out as well.
The Black Stars bounced back from their opening defeat against Lions of Terenga with a brilliant last-minute goal against Algeria by their inspirational striker Asamoah Gyan.
“Ghana have had more pressure than any other nation in this group.
“Maybe it’s because of their status. I think it’s going to be a hard game and I think they are going to try to win the game from the first whistle,” said Parker.
“This game is going to be tougher than the previous two we have played. It’s up to us players to get ourselves ready and fight. We know what is expected from us against Ghana.
“It’s going to be an aggressive game, because both us want to win and advance to the quarter-finals.”
The Star