Khune: Mobara didn’t give Neymar any room

Itumeleng Khune was castigated after his selection for the SA Olympic team, but he says that those critics "motivate me to perform better".

Cape Town - Itumeleng Khune was castigated in some quarters after his selection for the SA Olympic team, but he says that those critics “motivate me to perform better”.

That comes after the Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana captain produced arguably the finest performance of his career to deny Brazil victory in the Olympic Games opener at the Mané Garrincha Stadium in Brasilia on Thursday night.

Khune was one of the two over-aged players chosen by SA Under-23 coach Owen da Gama for the Rio Olympics, and it was felt by the likes of Benni McCarthy, Matthew Booth and Moeneeb Josephs that he shouldn’t take the place of Jody February, who had been superb in helping the team to qualify for the Games.

But Khune more than repaid the faith shown in him by Da Gama with an outstanding display, and the 29-year-old had no hard feelings towards his detractors afterwards.

“I am not discouraged by critics,” Khune told the Safa website. “Instead, they motivate me to perform even better. I am a professional and I turn every negative into a positive.”

Despite a vociferous home crowd roaring on captain Neymar and his team, the South African backline of Khune, right back Abbubaker Mobara, central defenders Erick Mathoho and Rivaldo Coetzee, as well as left back Deolin Mekoa played the games of their lives to secure a 0-0 result.

South Africa actually had the better of the game in the first 60 minutes, with captain Keagan Dolly in superb form. Dolly ran rings around the Brazilians in combination with Gift Motupa and Lebogang Mothiba, and coach Owen da Gama would’ve been a bit frustrated that his boys couldn’t find the back of the net.

But then things changed when defensive midfielder Mothobi Mvala was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 59th minute, which gave the likes of Neymar, Gabriel Barbosa and Felipe Anderson the extra space to operate it.

South Africa were soon under siege, and were forced to get more numbers behind the ball. Khune stood strong, making a number of fine saves and commanding the penalty area, while Mathoho put in some typically robust tackles to break down attacks.

Mobara also marked Barcelona superstar Neymar closely, and won the battle in the end. “The atmosphere was electrifying, but it is normal for us as most of us in the Olympic team play to these numbers and higher, like in the Soweto derby against Orlando Pirates just last weekend,” Khune said.

“I believe that my experience helped a lot in the match and the defensive line was very solid because of the understanding that Mathoho, Coetzee and I have.

“I was also very impressed with Mobara at right back, who kept Neymar busy all night and did not give him any room to play. We have a very good group of players in our squad and the draw against Brazil will inspire us going forward. Now we have to turn our attention to the match against Denmark and work on getting three points in that match.”

The SA-Denmark clash (Sunday midnight SA time) could go a long way to deciding South Africa’s fate, as the Danes drew 0-0 with Iraq in the other Group A encounter on Thursday. A win for Khune’s men could see them in the pound seats to go through to the quarter-finals as one of the top two in the group. Brazil will then have to beat Iraq and Denmark in their remaining games to qualify.

ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za

@ashfakmohamed

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