JOHANNESBURG – Bafana Bafana’s ability to ask questions of a team that had clearly come to the FNB Stadium to sit back and hope for a share of the spoils is what impressed midfielder Dean Furman the most in the national team’s 6-0 drubbing of Seychelles at the weekend.
They set a record win margin against the lowly islanders in the first of their back-to-back 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers - and beating them again this afternoon at the Stade Linite in Victoria will mean Bafana only need a point from their remaining two matches to reach next year’s continental tournament.
“What was very important for us was some of our attacking play against a side that was going to make it hard for us to break them down,” Furman said from Seychelles.
“We were delighted at how many times we were able to break them down. But off the ball as well we never allowed them any time to breathe, we kept them pretty much pinned in their own half. We can take a lot of confidence from the way we played as we head into the second game.”
'There's still a lot of hard work to do,' insists midfielder Dean Furman. Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
Furman said there was a certain level of expectation to repeat the same polished performance, although it will be on a different surface - the hosts use an artificial pitch - and away from home.
“I think there will be pressure because we came to this camp wanting all six points and we have done half a job so far. There is still a lot of hard work to do. We know it will be a slightly more difficult game because it’s in their conditions, their pitch and they will be feeling confident that they can give us more of a game,” the midfielder said.
“So we have to rise to the occasion, be as professional as we were on Saturday and carry out the game plan. The three points will put us in a good position to qualify.”
Bafana Bafana having final touch ups ahead of Tuesday's AFCON qualifier pic.twitter.com/OK1Fxt4uHx
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) October 15, 2018
Bafana, currently top of Group E following the weekend’s victory, will then host Nigeria on November 17 at FNB Stadium before facing Libya at a neutral venue for their final game in March next year.
“With a win we probably only need one more point to qualify, so that sets us up. We would like to get the job done as soon as possible because we want to be representing our country at these major tournaments,” said Furman.