Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter insists that his side’s impressive performance against Seychelles should not be overshadowed by the fact that they scored six goals.
An own goal from Nigel Hoareau and goals from Thulani Hlatshwayo, Lebo Mothiba, Percy Tau, Dino Ndlovu and Teboho Mokoena saw Bafana thrash the Pirates 6-0 in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the FNB Stadium on Saturday.
The South African national team have now moved to the top of Group E with seven points after three games played, while Seychelles are yet to register their first point in the group.
Baxter says he was impressed with his players’ ability to maintain their discipline and structure, which saw them dominate proceedings throughout the entire match.
‘A very good win. We can get carried away with the fact that we scored six goals, and say it was a good win because of the six goals but that would be taking a lot away from the players’ performance,’ Baxter said after the game.
‘To start with, you’re coming up against the underestimation factor which has not been our strong suit, so we worked very hard during the week to try and negate that.
‘And then you score three goals in the first half in poor weather, and play some very good football, and then you’ve got to go out in the second half and put your foot to the floor again.
‘At half-time, it’s very easy for players to relax and it becomes a 3-1 [scenario] because they get an off-side goal or a penalty.
‘I think the way the players played should be congratulated, maybe, more than the fact that we got six goals because they played very, very well.
‘They were very well disciplined, they stuck to the game plan and structure. The subs that went on did exactly what you would want them to do, and I just thought they all did a fantastic job.
‘Yes, it’s a great win, but I think we should say it’s a great win for the right reasons.’
Bafana Bafana will now take on Seychelles in their return leg of the Afcon qualifiers when they meet at the Stade Linite on Tuesday with kick-off set for 2:30pm.
