Wandile Duba can make his Bafana Bafana breakthrough if he continues to show progress, Kaizer Chiefs coach Fernando Da Cruz said after the forward scored a hat-trick that saw Amakhosi sweep past TS Galaxy 3-0 in the Carling Cup on Tuesday.
Duba’s display, giving him six goals from seven games in all competitions this season, came after Chiefs had sagged to a single victory from their previous eight matches.
It not only sparked a result that relieved some pressure on Da Cruz after Friday’s CAF Confederation Cup second preliminary round exit to Zambia’s Red Arrows, but also boosted Chiefs and Duba ahead of Saturday’s Betway Premiership Soweto derby against Orlando Pirates at the FNB Stadium (3.30pm).
Pirates also got a Carling first-round boost ahead of the derby, easing past Milford FC 3-0 at the Orlando Stadium, while Mamelodi Sundowns laboured somewhat with a 1-0 win against Marumo Gallants at Loftus Versfeld.
Da Cruz was pleased to see Duba hit form ahead of the derby.
“I’m very happy for Duba because he’s a young player and sometimes he can have a lot of ups and downs. He must improve his consistency,” the Frenchman said via the translation of fitness coach Julien Le Héran.
“He’s a very good young player, he’s able to drop, make deep runs, he’s very good in front of goal.
"But he must continue to work hard, to listen to the coach.
“And maybe if he continues to work hard he can become a player for Bafana Bafana.”
Da Cruz was impressed at how his team lifted themselves from an energy-sapping two legs against Arrows, where Chiefs lost 1-0 away then won 1-0 at home, in Polokwane, exiting on penalties.
“We played four days ago and spent a lot of energy in that game [against Arrows]. So we deserved to win.
“We had three or four big chances in the opening half but were not good in our decision-making and technical quality.
"We asked the players at halftime to be calmer in the box, calmer to score.
“In the second half, that’s what we did — scored goals. Perhaps we could have won this game 4-0 or 5-0.”
Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou was happy his team saw off Milford so easily, but far less pleased because Bucs “could have scored eight goals”.
“So yes, I’m happy with the progression [to the quarterfinals]," he said.
"But with the substance, the [ball] retention, I think for a big club like Pirates, looking to win the Champions League, Betway Premiership, Nedbank Cup and Carling, we should do better.
“We were beaten in the duels, with 53% won by Milford.
"We had 24 chances and scored three goals. Can I be satisfied? No.
“So I think we have to wake up and know we are playing for a big club; we are not here to nurse people, we are very ambitious.
“Pirates is a giant in Africa and I think we have to propose something else.
"If we want to stay small we can continue like that.”
