In what has been a step towards concluding preparations for this weekend's match, the South African senior national team played against Chippa United earlier today (Thursday).
Having arrived in Port Elizabeth this week, Bafana had a friendly match arranged for them against Chippa, which was played this morning in preparation of Sunday's Nelson Mandela Challenge clash against Mali.
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Molefi Ntseki's side managed to get the feel of the match venue as they drew 1-1 with the Chilli Boys at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Speaking to the media after the practice match, Ntseki spoke excitedly about having finally managed to see the team in a match situation, instead of just overseeing the training sessions.
"That's what we really needed because we have been training…we've never had an opportunity to play the game in an open field like this, which was good for us to be allowed to play and practice and do our preparations on the pitch that we will be playing on, on Sunday. The boys were very excited and they managed to have the feel of the field," the coach said.
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Meanwhile, the match also gave newly appointed Chippa coach Norman Mapeza the feel of what coaching in Mzansi is all about as he prepares to get his Absa Premiership coaching career underway with the relegation-threatened Eastern Cape outfit.
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