Bafana short on goal scorers
by Nick Said,
2016-03-09 05:00:00.0
BAFANA Bafana coach Ephraim "Shakes" Mashaba’s hunt for goals in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Cameroon later this month has been dealt a blow, with the majority of the country’s top strikers out of form or out of favour.
Mashaba will announce his squad for the qualification double-header on Thursday and one of the questions he will have to answer is who will lead the attacking line.
There is not much for him to enthuse over in the Premier Soccer League (PSL), with only three of the top nine strikers on the scorers’ charts South African — a dismal return from local forwards.
And one of those is Wits winger Daine Klate, who will not solve things in the six-yard box.
Only Ajax Cape Town forward Prince Nxumalo (11 league goals) and Polokwane City striker Thobani Mncwango (10) have made an impact this season, but neither has any experience of senior international football. It would be a big ask of them to perform against a Cameroon side packed with players who have spent a major part of their careers in the big leagues of Europe.
The top five PSL scorers are: Collins Mbesuma (Zambia), Khama Billiat (Zimbabwe), Jeremy Brockie (New Zealand), Leonardo Castro (Colombia) and Andrea Fileccia (Belgium).
Nxumalo appears likely to get the nod, but offers a similar bustling style to another forward who should feature, Thamsanqa Gabuza of Orlando Pirates. Gabuza has netted just two goals this season and has not played for almost a month, but has done well enough in the past year with the national side to retain his place.
Tokelo Rantie has spent some time on the sidelines, first through injury and then the fact that his English Premier League side Bournemouth did not register him for the second half of the season.
His burst of pace and ability to get behind defences make him a likely selection though, even if the last game he played was two months ago. The one forward who has been banging in the goals is Dino Ndlovu, who has 17 in 22 starts for Cypriot side Anothorsis Famagusta. But he was called up for the World Cup qualifiers against Angola late last year and not given a run by Mashaba, which suggests he is not what the coach is looking for.
Mashaba’s problems have been increased by injuries to the Wits pair of Sibusiso Vilakazi and Phakamani Mahlambi, who would likely have been selected.
Prince Nxumalo. Picture: GALLO IMAGES/GRANT PITCHER
BAFANA Bafana coach Ephraim "Shakes" Mashaba’s hunt for goals in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Cameroon later this month has been dealt a blow, with the majority of the country’s top strikers out of form or out of favour.
Mashaba will announce his squad for the qualification double-header on Thursday and one of the questions he will have to answer is who will lead the attacking line.
There is not much for him to enthuse over in the Premier Soccer League (PSL), with only three of the top nine strikers on the scorers’ charts South African — a dismal return from local forwards.
And one of those is Wits winger Daine Klate, who will not solve things in the six-yard box.
Only Ajax Cape Town forward Prince Nxumalo (11 league goals) and Polokwane City striker Thobani Mncwango (10) have made an impact this season, but neither has any experience of senior international football. It would be a big ask of them to perform against a Cameroon side packed with players who have spent a major part of their careers in the big leagues of Europe.
The top five PSL scorers are: Collins Mbesuma (Zambia), Khama Billiat (Zimbabwe), Jeremy Brockie (New Zealand), Leonardo Castro (Colombia) and Andrea Fileccia (Belgium).
Nxumalo appears likely to get the nod, but offers a similar bustling style to another forward who should feature, Thamsanqa Gabuza of Orlando Pirates. Gabuza has netted just two goals this season and has not played for almost a month, but has done well enough in the past year with the national side to retain his place.
Tokelo Rantie has spent some time on the sidelines, first through injury and then the fact that his English Premier League side Bournemouth did not register him for the second half of the season.
His burst of pace and ability to get behind defences make him a likely selection though, even if the last game he played was two months ago. The one forward who has been banging in the goals is Dino Ndlovu, who has 17 in 22 starts for Cypriot side Anothorsis Famagusta. But he was called up for the World Cup qualifiers against Angola late last year and not given a run by Mashaba, which suggests he is not what the coach is looking for.
Mashaba’s problems have been increased by injuries to the Wits pair of Sibusiso Vilakazi and Phakamani Mahlambi, who would likely have been selected.
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