Hosts break the ice and settle down in 'big environment'

AFTER THE burning emotion of the afternoon, the responses afterwards had to be muted. Carlos Parreira is undoubtedly relieved the symbolism of the first match is out of the way and his South African team are still well placed.

Now, he can think about plotting a path out of Group A.

“We could easily have won the game but all in all at the end a draw is a fair result.

“The opening game is always a lot of pressure and today was no different. We are still in the competition – this group is very tough.”

He acknowledged the enormity of the occasion clearly affected several of his team during the opening quarter, when Mexico were rampant and came close to taking the lead.

“Most of our team are a home-based team, players who are not used to this big environment and we tried hard to adapt to this ambience but after 15 minutes we started playing our game, putting the ball on the ground.

“We knew this Mexico team was the most daring in the World Cup, they are full of quality, In the second half we made the game more balanced and had chances to even have won it.”

Whether he regards this as an opportunity lost, though, is a different matter. Sooner or later now, South Africa are going to have to post a big win if they are to win.

“I believe that the ice has been broken. The result was not the one we wanted but it will keep us alive until the last game in the group. The team that makes four points will qualify.”

For captain Aaron Moekena, much of the day had been about trying to contain the lively and aggressive Mexican attack. The visitors pushed three forward and weaved through the South African back four, leaving them terribly exposed at times.

“We were aware of their three strikers, very quick on the counter and we had to be tight today,” said Mokoena.

“I was pleased with the second half. It was a good start for us.

“We had a couple of chances, but we showed that we can create the chances so it’s about building from there.”

Mexico coach Javier Aguirre felt that the draw leaves his team with a clear cut task for their next match.

“I think we had a very good first half, but we weren’t capable of really putting away our chances,” he said.“The team was confident, but we missed a few chances and things got complicated after they scored.

“The South African goalkeeper played really well and kept them in the game in the first half.

“South Africa were playing at home with all their fans.

“Both teams are going away with a bittersweet taste and now we are forced to beat France in our next game.

“We are quite confident that we can win the next two matches,” the former Mexico international added.