The 2015 African Cup of Nations was meant to be a way of showing how far Bafana Bafana has come under Shakes Mashaba, but instead it was further proof to the rest of Africa that South Africa is still quite a way off where they need to be.
For me, Mashaba was exactly what Bafana needed when he was appointed. The veteran is a fantastic motivator, and, as shown by the AFCON qualifiers, managed to create a side that was playing for the jersey again. Playing for pride.
I've said on many occasions how Shakes' biggest achievement was bringing belief back to South African football, not just for the players, but for the fans as well. In his few months in charge he succeeded in turning even the biggest pessimist into a quietly optimistic onlooker.
Mashaba used a young team in qualifying, gave guys like Rivaldo Coetzee his debut and brought in a number of players that, in theory, should have long futures with the national team.
Yet, within the space of a few months, we went from 'Project 2018' to wanting to win Africa's biggest tournament, seemingly getting overly giddy after a few friendly wins, and giving the average South African fan the opportunity to get far too ahead of themselves.
Bafana should have gone to Equatorial Guinea with a sober attitude. With the mindset that yes, progress was being made, but that it was a very inexperienced team going to the tournament, of which only seven had any form of previous AFCON experience.
Now, having been knocked out and earning just one point, all the talk of winning the competition, packing for six weeks and not dying in the Group of Death seems a little silly. It added extra pressure to a group of players that didn't really need it.
South African football fans don't need to be asked twice when it comes to getting on their player's backs, and the bravado shown in downplaying the difficulty of Group C only served to heap more pressure on a very talented group of developing players.
Despite leading in all three of their group games, Bafana crumbled on three different occasions, losing two and drawing one. They showed their lack of experience as three different teams took advantage of their inability to see out a game.
I remember writing a piece prior to the tournament where I was slated for calling Mashaba a motivator and not a tactician, but I think that, ultimately, that showed in Equatorial Guinea.
Had a change been made after Tokelo Rantie's penalty miss, maybe that result would have ended differently. Likewise when the game was turning against the Ghanaians last night. In a team that lacks so much experience, could the most capped player in the squad, Bernard Parker, have been used to better effect in the three encounters?
Another key factor was Bafana's inability to deal with set pieces. Granted, some of their opponents were far bigger than them, but was enough done in training to nullify the threat? Given that Bafana lost 65 of their 99 aerial battles and struggled with most set pieces, I think not.
The players do have to take their portion of the blame. Despite averaging 11 shots per game at AFCON 2015, only 2.7 per game were actually on target, the second lowest accuracy of any team in the tournament so far. Also, at 69%, had one of the lowest pass success rates of any of the competitors.
Mashaba's decision to look to youth and build for the future was fine when the going was good, but the moment Bafana were backed up against a wall the lack of experience showed. That's alright as a young team with nothing to lose, but it's not good enough for a side whose head coach has touted them as potential winners
Naïve. I think that is the correct word to sum up Bafana's AFCON campaign in my eyes. The fellas played some great stuff, some of the best I've seen from them, but didn't have the killer instinct to finish a game, nor the mental strength to hold on to a lead. When you have neither of those you need a coach that can change a game for you.
Bafana just didn't have the BMT to see it through this year, the Big Match Temperament that is acquired while playing in the European and African Champions Leagues or at the highest level. Algeria, Senegal and Ghana had guys with that BMT, and ultimately were able to take their games against Bafana by the scruff of the neck and get something out of them.
Nonetheless, looking at AFCON 2015 as what it was meant to be, big game experience, there are plenty of positives to take from it. A group of young players have made their debuts at the highest level for their country, they've been pitted against some of the best players on the continent and, hopefully, learnt a few lessons along the way. For a team that wasn't even expected to qualify, I'd say that it's been pretty successful.
For that reason, and despite the inevitable 'Shakes Out' brigade, I don't think that Mashaba should be fired. I think he's done a tremendous job in overseeing a remarkable turnaround in Bafana's style and fortunes.
However, I do think that expectations need to be lowered, certain relationships mended, grudges dropped and that, for the time being at least, development should take precedence over talk of winning anything. South Africa's U17s and U20s have shown that, without a doubt, Mzansi's future is full of possibilities.
You could say that Bafana were unlucky not to come away with more in Equatorial Guinea, but if you make the same mistakes three games in a row, is it really unlucky? Unprepared is probably a better term.
One final thing though... I think that people need to stop confusing criticism with a lack of support. Just because an opinion isn't always a gleaming positive, doesn't mean that the holder of that opinion wants to see Bafana, or their coach, fail.
Follow Joe on Twitter: @YesWeCrann
