The half-time instruction that helped Lepasa improve in Bafana win
Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has detailed the half-time instruction he gave Zakhele Lepasa, which led the striker to have a much-improved performance.
Bafana pulled off an incredible second-half display with Lepasa impressing Broos in the 2-1 win over Mozambique in an international friendly clash at the Mbombela Stadium on Thursday night.
Broos strongly believes Lepasa, who has four Bafana caps under his belt with zero goals, has great potential to become the best striker in South Africa.
The Orlando Pirates forward was unable to put the ball at the back of the net but was instrumental in Bafana’s first goal.
Lepasa started the move that resulted in the first goal by Bongokuhle Hlongwane by cutting in from the left and passing to Miguel Timm, who played through the assist provider Nyiko Mobbie.
Lepasa was nowhere to be seen in the first half, as he was static and looked lost. And after the slow start, Broos had a chat with the Soweto-born striker. The latter didn’t disappoint in delivering what the coach wanted, as his coach had nothing but praises for him after the game.
Why Broos was impressed with Lepasa’s performance
“When I see him play in the first half, then he is a striker who stays in the centre. He was not moving,” said Broos.
“So I said to him in half time, Lepasa, you will never touch the ball like that. You have to move. Left, right, go back, and you saw his second half. He was on the ball. He’s quick. In combination, he is good. He was two times better than in the first half. Only because he was moving.”
“He is a great potential, Lepasa. But he is young, and you need to be patient with him, talk with him, and you need to tell him what he has to do. And then you see how good he is, he’s good, he’s good, he’s tall.
“Lepasa is also a guy who has power but okay. When you have 22, something like that, I think, Lepasa, 22, 23, and you don’t play all the games for his team. This is the decision of their coach, but for me, he is a really good striker, and you saw it.”
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