Bafana Bafana head coach Pitso Mosimane has hit back at a local journalist who questioned his decision to leave Mbekezeli Mbokazi on the bench during their 2-2 draw against Kenya.

South Africa were forced to settle for a point after allowing Benni McCarthy’s Kenya side to score a late equaliser through Ryan Ogam. The result meant Bafana dropped two valuable points after failing to protect their advantage in a match they would have wanted to win.

Following the final whistle, Mosimane faced questions about his team selection, with Mbokazi’s absence from the starting line-up becoming one of the talking points.

The defender had returned to the Bafana setup but was not included in the starting XI. Instead, Mosimane decided to continue with Olwethu Makhanya and Ime Okon as his centre-back partnership.

The two defenders had started Bafana’s first two matches in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, and the coach appeared comfortable maintaining the combination against Kenya.

However, after South Africa conceded a late goal, a local journalist questioned Mosimane about his decision to leave Mbokazi among the substitutes. The question appeared to irritate the Bafana coach, who was quick to challenge the journalist and rejected the suggestion that the defender’s absence was responsible for the dropped points.

“Ahh come on guys, you can’t go there,” Mosimane responded.

The former Mamelodi Sundowns coach then made it clear that he did not appreciate the direction of the question, suggesting that the journalist was trying to put the responsibility for the result on his team selection.

“Come on, you don’t want me to lose respect of you. You can’t go there,” he added.

Mosimane continued by questioning whether Mbokazi’s absence was really the main reason Bafana failed to win the match.

“Now you choose who must play. So we lost because of that or we lost because we missed many chances, come on,” he said.

The coach also reminded the journalist that there were other important aspects of the performance that deserved attention, particularly the opportunities South Africa failed to convert.

“You can better than what you’re saying, right?” Mosimane continued.

Interestingly, despite his strong reaction, Mosimane later acknowledged that the journalist was right to raise the question at that particular moment.

“It’s the right time to ask by the way, you are right,” he concluded.

The exchange comes after a disappointing result for Bafana, who will now have to reflect on how they allowed Kenya to find a way back into the game.

Although the late equaliser will attract attention, Mosimane will also be concerned about his team's inability to take advantage of the chances created during the match.

Mbokazi’s role will remain an interesting talking point heading into the next Bafana fixture. His return gives Mosimane another option in central defence, but the coach will have to decide whether to make changes or continue with Makhanya and Okon.

The draw against Kenya has also increased the importance of Bafana getting their next performance right, particularly as they look to remain competitive in the 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign.

For now, Mosimane has defended his selection decision and made it clear that he believes the missed chances, rather than Mbokazi’s absence, were a major factor in Bafana failing to collect all three points.

Source: IDiskiTimes