Pitso Mosimane Clashes With Journalist After Bafana Bafana Drop Points Against Kenya

• Bafana Bafana were held to a 2-2 draw by Benni McCarthy's Kenya after a late Ryan Ogam equaliser
• Pitso Mosimane left Mbokazi on the bench, opting for the Makhanya and Okon centre-back pairing
• A post-match question about Mbokazi's absence drew a sharp and visibly irritated response from Mosimane

Bafana Bafana head coach Pitso Mosimane publicly rebuked a journalist who questioned his team selection following a frustrating 2-2 draw with Kenya in their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

Kenya, under the guidance of former Manchester United striker Benni McCarthy, rescued a point through a late Ryan Ogam equaliser, leaving Bafana to rue dropped points they will likely feel were within their grasp.

Mosimane defends his selection

Mosimane had chosen to field Olwethu Makhanya and Ime Okon as his central defensive pairing, the same combination that had started Bafana's two previous qualifiers. Mbekezeli Mbokazi, a returnee to the squad, was named among the substitutes and did not feature from the off.

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When a journalist raised the issue of Mbokazi's omission in the post-match press conference, Mosimane's patience visibly wore thin. Rather than explaining his reasoning in detail, he pushed back sharply, questioning the premise of the question itself.

"Ahh come on guys, you can't go there," he said. "Come on, you don't want me to lose respect of you. You can't go there."

Mosimane then challenged the suggestion that Mbokazi's absence had any bearing on the result, pointing instead to Bafana's wastefulness in front of goal. "Now you choose who must play. So we lost because of that or we lost because we missed many chances, come on," he added.

Coach Questions Journalist's Judgement

The coach did not stop there. He went on to question the standard of the query before offering a reluctant concession on its timing.

"You can better than what you're saying, right? It's the right time to ask by the way, you are right…" he said, in what appeared to be a backhanded acknowledgement that the question carried some relevance, even as he dismissed the substance of it.

Bafana were left counting the cost of a failure to hold their lead, with the draw leaving their qualification campaign in a more precarious position after two points slipped away in the closing stages.

Source: Briefly News