Pitso Mosimane Frustrated as Bafana Waste Chances in Kenya Draw

Pitso Mosimane was left disappointed after Bafana Bafana drew 2-2 with Kenya, saying his players’ preference for attractive football came at the expense of finishing. South Africa created several good opportunities but failed to turn enough of them into goals, then conceded a stoppage-time equaliser at the Orlando Amstel Arena on Friday. “Bafana too good and too pretty,” Mosimane said after the match, explaining that the team sometimes seems more focused on how it plays than on scoring. He said he was encouraged by the number of chances his side created, even as the missed opportunities made the result painful. The coach argued that building a team capable of creating openings is the harder task. He would rather help his players become more composed in front of goal than have to teach them how to produce chances in the first place. In his view, the issue was mental rather than technical, particularly in one-on-one situations against the goalkeeper. South Africa had opportunities to claim all three points, but their inability to convert them left the door open for Kenya’s late goal. The draw also halted Mosimane’s winning start in his second spell in charge, following three victories in his opening matches. Bafana now have a chance to respond in the return fixture in Nairobi. Mosimane’s challenge, as described after the draw, is to keep the attacking approach that generated chances while demanding greater composure when those opportunities arrive.