When Shakes Mashaba's first Bafana Bafana squad was announced, I'll admit I was slightly worried by the inexperience of some players and shocked at the exclusion of others, however, following the victory over Sudan, it seems I had no reason to be.
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Bafana's 3-0 win over Sudan was as professional a display as you'll see in an away game in Africa, partly down to the players and how they performed, but largely because of the game plan that Shakes put in place.
I think I speak for most of us when I say that, before the game, I'd have taken a 0-0 as an end result, playing away in Africa is never easy and avoiding defeat is often as important as getting a win.
However, it was soon made glaringly obvious that Bafana's new man at the helm wanted nothing less than three points. Selecting both defensive-minded midfielders, Dean Furman and Andile Jali, to play in the middle of the park meant that what we lacked in creativity, was made up in abundance by defensive ability.
The first half, I'm sure, went along with Shakes' game plan. Yes, Sudan had more attacking opportunities and, probably, could/should have grabbed a goal or two, but they didn't. Senzo Meyiwa was solid, Bafana's back four weathered the storm, and the two teams went in at the break level.
After withstanding the pressure in the first half, an understandable tactic when playing an away game, Shakes looked to change up the gears in the second, pulling off Tokelo Rantie for last season's PSL Player of the Season, Sibusiso Vilakazi.
The term 'an inspired substitution' is bandied around often in the world of football, but it is not too regularly that an oncoming player has such an immediate impact.
Bringing Vilakazi on gave Bafana that bit of creativity that Bafana needed having sat back and absorbed the Sudanese pressure in the first half, giving them that little bit extra bite. Once Vila scored the opener the game was done.
In terms of ability Bafana have better players than Sudan, that was, probably, never in question. The question was whether they could club together and put in a team performance that could pick up three points on the continent. They, with Shakes' help, proved that they could.
I'm not ashamed to admit when I'm wrong, I'm not too proud to give credit even when it goes against m prediction, and on this occasion I have to do so.
However, I do stand by my comment before the game that, just as defeat against Sudan wouldn't have meant that Shakes wasn't the right man, victory doesn't mean that we've completely turned the corner just yet. It does, however, kick start our AFCON campaign beautifully and puts us on the right road to making it to Morocco 2015.
When Shakes' Bafana team was picked I was unsure, but stated that I'd support him, and I stick by that. We all have opinions on who should/shouldn't be in the Bafana team, but if they're winning then who cares?
Sudan may have been a 'weaker' team where victory 'should' have been guaranteed, but in the recent past we've struggled to beat these 'weaker' teams, even on home turf. Shakes started his campaign by doing it, convincingly, on theirs.
I'll be honest, my biggest issue with Shakes' appointment is that it was only done in July. If Shakes is SAFA's man, which Gordon Igesund clearly wasn't, he should have been given time to build his team, not thrown in at the deep end with an AFCON qualifier as his first game. He nailed his first assignment, but he should have been given longer to study.
Long may his bright start continue, bring on Nigeria.
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