JOHANNESBURG – The Bidvest Wits graphics team responsible for posting the starting line-up on social media for the 0-0 CAF Confederation Cup draw against Smouha on Saturday had several players in the wrong position.
Siboniso Gaxa, for instance, had his name and face higher up the pitch at right wing instead of being at left back.
The attack-minded Elias Pelembe was handed the tough task of forming part of the Clever Boys’ back four, while midfield workhorse Ben Motshwari was thrown in at the deep end – up top as Cuthbert Malajila’s strike partner.
Comical at first, but a further inspection of the rest of the team on the pitch against Egyptians Smouha in this first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup playoff suggested the home side were simply ticking the box.
Only four regulars missed out on getting a day off from coach Gavin Hunt.
The all-important fixture is back here in the Absa Premiership on Tuesday night against Golden Arrows, which will send Wits to the top of the standings if they win it and give their title hopes a serious boost with only nine more games remaining.
Nevertheless, the Clever Boys remained the dominant side on Saturday afternoon against yet another Egyptian opposition, having been knocked out of the CAF Champions League – and relegated to the Confederation Cup – by Al Ahly, the eight-time champions, at this venue last month.
Then, there was urgency about Hunt’s men, the crowd spurring them on to upset the odds and book a place in the group stages of the premier continental tournament.
FT UPDATE: A promising game with a ton of opportunities the final whistle goes with the scores at @BidvestWits0 - 0 @SmouhaOfficial #CAFCC
— Bidvest Wits (@BidvestWits) April 8, 2017
But after 90 minutes of missed chances, Al Ahly triumphed 1-0 on aggregate thanks to Ahmed Hegazy’s winner in the first leg at the National Stadium in Cairo a week earlier.
Just as their countrymen managed to avoid conceding in South Africa, Smouha, who are in fourth place in the Egyptian league and trail Al Ahly by 18 points, also had to rely heavily on their goalkeeper Mohamed Gabal to ensure they have an advantage next week in the return leg in Alexandria.
Hunt won’t be too cut up about it as defeat means he has a fresh squad to compete for the championship.
But a win here would have been a morale-booster of some sort, given how Wits were embarrassed by National First Division outfit Jomo Cosmos in the last-16 of the Nedbank Cup earlier in the week at the Tsakane Stadium.
But instead, to borrow from Hunt’s own words about the type of football you can find in the Premier Soccer League, this was just mix-masala, and it wasn’t a tasty one.