Bafana Bafana have played to a one-all draw against Japan in a friendly international match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth on Saturday (14 November). South African coach Carlos Parreira says even though they did not get a win, he is happy with the way his players applied themselves. “It’s a new beginning with a positive start, yes I agree best results are when we win the game. But we played against a well-oiled machine and I was impressed with their performance as they are very experienced side – very high tempo and they never stop running. I consider the result fair, but we need to improve,” said Parreira.

The Brazilian addressed the media after the match, which was played in front of a big crowd. The coach lamented the form of some players who he believes are vital to the team. “The result is not bad considering that we have a couple of players who are not at their best, and these players, I believe are important for the World Cup. We had only a short time together, and some of the areas we need to improve on are penetration and shooting – but these will become better with time. This was a positive start though as we played for a win not a draw,” said the coach.

Bafana Bafana are now in Bloemfontein to play their second friendly international match. This will be against Jamaica on Tuesday, 17 November at Vodacom Park. Kick-off is at 20h30. “In this match we have to play our game, and not even think of whether they are stronger or weaker than Japan. I will make some changes but not too many, we need to keep the core of the team. Jamaica is not the same as Japan in terms of strength but we need to be careful as these are games that can fool us,” said Parreira.

Speaking through an interpreter, Japan coach Takeshi Okada believes that his side should have taken all three points. “I am very disappointed that we did not win, but it was a good experience and a great atmosphere. In the first half we could not play our style with the defence a bit disorganised but the second half was better and our back four were stable. It really was a privilege to play against a team like South Africa,” said Okada.

Belgium-based defender Anele Ngcongca made his debut. The 22 year old plays for KRC Genk.

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