Bafana's blunt and depleted attack a concern ahead of Afcon: 'It was not bad, but it was not good either'

The facial expression of the straight-talking Hugo Broos betrayed the words coming out of the Bafana Bafana coach's mouth. 

The Belgian tried to assure the nation that Bafana's goalless draw with lowly Lesotho in a training match at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Wednesday will not have any bearing on their performance in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon). 

Broos started the match with a strong front four based on the 23-man squad he assembled, which was depleted by the unavailability of the injured Lebo Mothiba while Lyle Foster asked not to be picked despite playing for Burnley in England due to his continuing treatment of his mental health challenges. 

Evidence Makgopa led the attack, supported by Thapelo Maseko and Mihlali Mayambela with Percy Tau the playmaker whose duty was to link the midfield with the frontline. Themba Zwane – along with Mothobi Mvala and Ronwen Williams – were unavailable for selection as a precautionary measure to ensure they are fully fit when Bafana start the Afcon against Mali on Tuesday. 

Every player got a run, but the spotlight fell on the blunt and depleted attack that couldn't find the back of the net against Lesotho who failed to qualify for the Afcon. 

"It was not bad, but it was not good either," a visibly disappointed Broos told SAFA media, before putting a positive spin on the outcome. 

"Like I said before the game, this is a preparation game. We worked hard in the last three to four days. We needed a little bit more freshness to beat Lesotho. I am not unhappy, certainly not. Everyone had the opportunity to play."

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Lesotho sat back and absorbed the pressure from Bafana, a strategy that worked well