Pitso Mosimane has indeed hit the ground running with Bafana Bafana. It may be early days but the heavyweight South African coach already has his side firing on all cylinders.
His opening 2-1 victory over a solid Guinea side was impressive however beating Eritrea 5-0 just over 72 hours later was incredible.
One may argue that it’s a lowly-ranked team Bafana ought to have beaten, but when you look closely at The Red Sea Camels’ recent results, you’ll understand why the performance shouldn’t be underestimated.
Over the past year, Eritrea have drawn against Niger and Kenya while earning back-to-back wins over Eswatini. It’s for that exact reason that Pitso’s Bafana side deserve a 9 out of 10 rating for their efforts in Cairo.
Pitso delivers near perfect night for Bafana
It was a happy return to Cairo for Pitso Mosimane as his Bafana side cruised to a 5-0 victory over Eritrea at the Al-Salam Stadium. Mosimane spent two trophy-laden years in Cairo with Egyptian giants Al-Ahly, and once again, the coach showed his class up North.
Mosimane’s squad were already hit with major blows before kick-off after Teboho Mokoena and Aubrey Modiba were ruled out of the clash. Things looked even trickier early on when Mokoena’s replacement, Bathusi Aubaas, picked up an injury and was forced off.
However, Brooklyn Poggenpoel stepped in and repaid Mosimane’s faith by delivering a masterclass in the middle of the park.
Relebohile Mofokeng once again showed his class by scoring a well-taken brace, while Oswin Appollis was just as effective with a hat-trick of assists.
With Iqraam Rayners getting in on the act, a clean sheet for Ronwen Williams, and Luther Singh rounding off the scoring, it all marked a perfect night for Pitso in Cairo.
Six points from their opening two matches on the road to qualifying for AFCON 2027 is an outcome Mosimane would have grabbed with both hands a week ago.
Next up though is another intriguing test for Bafana in the form of a friendly match against Egypt on Sunday night.
Photo: Daniel Hlongwane/Gallo Images
