Stuart Baxter has outlined what he is looking for from Bafana Bafana forwards’ Percy Tau and Lebo Mothiba after South Africa opened their account at the African Cup of Nations with a win over Namibia.
The Bafana coach tweaked his tactics after the 1-0 loss to the Ivory Coast in the Afcon opener where the South Africans struggled to create anything going forward with both Tau and Mothiba proving ineffective on the day.
Baxter then mixed things up for the game against Namibia and Tau went on to win the Man of the Match award after the Bafana talisman was shifted out wide.
Speaking after the game, Baxter revealed why he decided to move Tau out wide, while also highlighting what he wants from the duo.
‘We wanted Percy to be driving in coming from a wide position to try and support Lebo Mothiba, instead of running into him. In the first game Percy was a little confused and it got a little bit messy,’ Baxter explained to the media.
‘He was still coming in a little bit early from the right, so we changed him to the left and he stayed wider and was more successful. Those (Tau and Mothiba) two play really well together when we get the balance right – and that is obviously what we want to build on.’
Bafana next face Morocco in group D and will be looking to reach the knockout stages of the competition with a positive performance on Monday night.