Banyana Banyana coach Joseph Mkhonza targets Asian opposition ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games in London
Banyana target overseas preparation
Posted: 2011-09-16 11:04
Banyana Banyana coach Joseph Mkhonza is targeting games against European and Asian opposition before next year's Olympic Games in London.
"We're not going to rest on our laurels, we're going to work very, very hard," Mkhonza told BBC Sport after Banyana completed a 4-1 aggregate win over Ethiopia on Sunday to qualify for London 2012, the first time they will contest the Olympics.
"We're not going to play any Africans as we won't meet any at the Olympics. This team has big potential but potential is not going to help us - hard work is what's going to help us, We need to play more friendlies with European and Asian countries."
Following Sunday's 1-1 draw in Addis Ababa in the second leg of their qualifier against Ethiopia, Mkhonza flew to Mozambique to watch South Africa's second-string women's XI at the All Africa Games.
The youthful side lost to Cameroon in the semi-finals as Mkhonza watched from the sidelines in Maputo.
"We want to make sure we field our strongest teams at the Olympics and we know it's not going to be an easy task. We are prepared and we don't want to go to Londno to make an appearance - we want to go there to make a difference."
The coach added that his technical staff learned a great deal from last year's disappointment at the African Women's Championship (AWC), which they hosted.
South Africa lost to Equatorial Guinea in the semi-finals and so missed out on a place at the World Cup in Germany earlier this year.
Mkhonza says he knows what to expect in London after watching the World Cup.
"We're improving slowly but surely because this journey started last year at the AWC after we lost. In the post mortem, we worked out our girls were making a lot of mistakes in crucial areas and giving the ball away easily. We created a lot of chances that we didn't take."
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