The South African U23 side arrived in Congo Brazzaville on Friday afternoon but have since experienced some of the dirty tricks known of when traveling on the African continent.
David Notoane’s side were held to a 1-1 draw at Dobsonville Stadium on Thursday, when the visitors struck first before Thapelo Maseko’s goal salvaged a draw in their U23 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
The South African Football Association confirmed that the U23 settled in well in Congo Brazzaville, thanks to the assistance of the South African embassy, which Notoane also confirmed.
“Our travel plans worked out very well,” he told SAFA.net.
“The team got to rest and the flight was not bad in terms of travel times. The accommodation is fantastic and one must compliment the embassy and federation in terms of the co-ordination between the two entities in making sure we have the best possible accommodation.”
However, when it comes to training that’s where the Young Bafana experienced some disruptions, with Notoane confirming the pitch for training on Matchday -2 was below standard.
“We had our first session in Congo yesterday and unfortunately we could not access the main stadium as per the rules that we are allowed two days on Astro turf,” he explained.
“We got an alternative venue which was below standard, but we managed to have 45 minutes of training there and the boys are looking sharp, refreshed and I am happy with that.
“Today (Matchday-1) we are looking to wrap up preparations at the match venue and the boys are up to the fight. We have done a lot of video analysis in terms of areas of improvement.”
But the Matchday -1 training, which took place at the match venue, was disrupted 30 minutes into the start when the Congolese team disrupted Notoane’s men, as shown in the video shared by SABCSport and iDiski Times journalist Velile Mnyandu.
The all-important AFCON qualifier second leg kicks off at 18:00, SA time at the Massamba-Debat Stadium on Monday, with the tv coverage yet to be confirmed.
