Bafana Bafana head coach Pitso Mosimane has explained the decision to travel to Kenya in the early hours of the morning following their previous match, admitting the squad had to manage both physical and mental fatigue ahead of their next assignment.
South Africa opted for the earliest available flight out of the country, departing at 01:00 and arriving in Kenya at approximately 06:00.
While the schedule presented its own challenges, Mosimane felt it was the best way to maximise the time available to prepare for the upcoming encounter, with the players given the remainder of the day to rest and recover.
The Bafana coach admitted the squad were understandably tired after their previous match, particularly given the demands of travelling immediately afterwards, but was pleased with how they responded to the recovery programme.
“The best thing was to leave in the AMs. The earliest flight we could find was to leave at 1 AM out of South Africa,” Mosimane explained.
“We landed in the morning, obviously around about six. A bit difficult because after the match you don’t sleep. You have to travel, but it’s better to save the day.”
Mosimane revealed that the players spent most of their arrival day resting at the hotel before undertaking regeneration work later in the evening, with the squad looking considerably better the following morning.
“They slept the whole day. We were all tired, to be honest. Tired from the match, tired from fatigue of the game, and mentally also,” he added.
“We need to get better because we didn’t get the results we wanted. So we rested and regenerated late in the evening yesterday, so that they can have enough time to rest. They look good now in the morning.”
The coach also indicated that there were no fresh complaints about fatigue ahead of their first training session in Kenya, which was scheduled for later in the afternoon.
With concerns about the weather and playing conditions also on the agenda, Mosimane was encouraged by the conditions upon arrival, although he wanted to assess the pitch before making any further judgements.
“I thought it would be very hot, but there’s some wind, which is proper, so we can’t make excuses for that. We’re good. We’ll see how the pitch looks like, and prepare for the match,” he said.
Mosimane also acknowledged that Bafana could have handled the closing stages of their previous match better, particularly after conceding a late goal, but insisted the focus had already shifted towards the next challenge.
“Last-minute goal, we could have focused a little bit and handled it differently, but it’s part of football. So yeah, we’re looking forward to the next match,” he concluded.