‘WE’LL ATTACK GUINEA BISSAU’

LOBAMBA – The best form of defending in football is attacking.

This is the philosophy Sihlangu coach Dominic Kunene will be applying when his troops face Guinea Bissau in the 2022 AFCON Qualifier tomorrow at the Mavuso Sports Centre.
Expectation from most football followers is that Sihlangu will be more defensive in this game given that most of the players have been inactive due to recent suspension of football because of COVID-19. The partial lockdown in the country was only lifted a few days ago by the country’s acting Prime Minister Themba Masuku, allowing the return of less-risk sports along with football at the premier division. This has left Kunene and his technical team with about two weeks to prepare for the Guinea Bissau clash, leaving a number of local football followers with little hope ahead of tomorrow’s game.

However, if Kunene’s assertion during the Sihlangu media day yesterday is anything to go by, then the squad’s followers have every reason to be hopeful. “We were concerned about the fitness levels of the players when we started camp but the boys have been brilliant with their application in training. The spirit is high and it is difficult to even tell that some of the players were inactive. This has provided us as coaches with hope that we will compete to win against Guinea Bissau,” Kunene said. Adding, Kunene said while it was important that they protected their goalkeeper defensively, it will not stop them from applying attacking football. He made it clear that they will be playing to win both matches against Guinea Bissau and Senegal even though mathematically, they effectively stand no chance of earning qualification for the main tournament to be hosted in Cameroon next year.

“There is every reason for us to win the two games because this is what all people of this country want to see happening with the national team. Commenting about the fact that Senegal will be minus several key players when they square up in Dakar at the end of this month, Kunene made it clear that this was academic. “We will be playing against 11 Senegal players and it does not matter who is available or not. So, our approach even in that game will be to compete against the players in the starting line-up for Senegal, and not worry about the names. I can assure you that we will do our utmost best to win both matches because there is also pride at stake for us to protect,” the former Young Buffaloes’ mentor stated.

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