Bafana Bafana of South Africa coach, Stuart Baxter has pushed aside the effect of last year’s 2-0 win against Nigeria in Uyo, as he says he does not want his players to dwell on the result heading into the reverse fixture next Saturday.
Rather than keep flaunting the shock 2-0 win during the opening match of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in June 2017, sports247.ng can report that Baxter is talking about keeping full focus of a new task to be achieved in the second leg.
Baxter led Bafana Bafana to a famous away win over the Eagles, a first competitive victory for South Africa in the rivalry between both teams, but he now hopes the memory of that triumph in Uyo does not cause overconfidence among his players.
At the same time, though, the British soccer tactician admits that the fact that his side won their first ever competitive match away to Nigerian means Bafana Bafana broke the jinx the Eagles held over them for a long time.
He now feels that aura could go a long way in helping them get a decent result on November 17 at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.
Baxter retorted: “I hope it has broken the – almost – belief that we can’t beat Nigeria. But that comes from somewhere deep down, not just from a load of words but your actions on the field.
“When looking in their eyes, you’ve got to make sure that it is deep, deep down that you really believe it. So, I hope it’s broken that.
“I also hope that it’s not made us feel as if we’re the kings of the world, because we’re not. We have a long, long way to go.
“But, if we play well and we produce good South African football, a lot of motivation and a lot of focus on a game-plan that will also stop them from playing, then we have a chance.
“If players are not prepared to do that – the word ‘sacrifice’ comes to mind – then we’ll maybe get the same sort of results that we fear getting.”
