RUSTENBURG – South Africa coach Molefi Ntseki was slammed by supporters on social media after a 2-1 home loss to Zambia on Sunday in an international friendly.
He was accused of being “tactically bankrupt”, “clueless and directionless” and “lacking a strategy” in tweets when the home side conceded two late goals in Rustenburg.
Former national under-17 coach Ntseki was a shock appointment when England-born Stuart Baxter quit last year.
Ntseki had never played for, nor coached, a professional team.
All the goals came from substitutes with Keagan Dolly putting the hosts ahead on 66 minutes behind closed doors due the coronavirus pandemic.
It was the second poor performance within four days by South Africa after they failed to protect a lead in a 1-1 draw with Namibia at the same ground.
While better results were expected against lower-ranked opponents, it was the lack of South African fighting spirit that angered supporters.
Ntseki blamed the loss on a first-minute injury to Lyle Foster, which forced the Portugal-based forward to go off.
“The injury messed up our plan and our rhythm. We gave the ball away too cheaply and conceded a lot of corners,” he said.
“We were better in the second half but I detected a lack of confidence and belief among some of my players.”
Source link
