Molefi Ntseki, Head Coach of South Africa’s national team, has lauded the tactical prowess of Kwesi Appiah in their 2-0 defeat against the Black Stars of Ghana.
The Black Stars recorded a massive win against the South African counterparts in the group opener of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier played at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium.
According to the South African gaffer, Appiah won the tactical “war” on the day and deserves all the credit but insisted that his side were not outplayed.
“I have so much respect for Appiah and I said that the match was going to be a 'war' of tactics and tactics would always win you games but you need to have players who would put in the effort. Ghana put in so much effort which got them the two goals.
“I’m not saying my players didn’t put in efforts but unfortunately we couldn’t win the game, so I think coach Appiah won the tactical war,’’ he said at a post-match press conference.
In his tactical assessment of the game, Ntseki said, “It was not like we were outplayed in the situation where we conceded. It happens in the game of football – when you are not balanced, the opponent will take advantage.
“When you are playing a game like this, everything is flowing very fast and you look for opportunities where you can hurt the opponent. The two teams were very compact. If you look at Ghana, they didn’t have too many shots on goal, apart from the goal from Thomas and the second goal came from a transition, winning the ball when we were open at the back. They had possession but never hurt us,’’ he said.
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