SA’s Ronwen Williams looking forward to Mali challenge

by Staff Reporter

Sunday Oct 13, 2019. 09:00

South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams says he is looking forward to the challenge of taking on West African heavyweights Mali in Port Elizabeth today.

Bafana Bafana will take on the Eagles in the annual Nelson Mandela Challenge, a match which will not only honour the late President and liberation hero, but also mark the start of a new era under coach Molefi Ntseki.

Williams revealed that he has been impressed with the way Ntseki has taken up the baton from former coach Stuart Baxter.

“The structure is there already, the guys that have come into the team have found it relatively easy to settle,” Williams told the media, as quoted by Goal.

“The coach didn’t come in and try to change a lot, he has retained the structure, the way we want to play and build up so it is standard.

“And we are professionals, we know what to do and we know why we are here so it’s just for us to stick to the game plan we have for Mali.”

The goalkeeper added, “It’s going to be an interesting game. We haven’t played them (Mali) in a long time but we have extra motivation.

“This is our former president’s tournament, Mr. Nelson Mandela, so we want the trophy to stay here. We will go out there and give our best to ensure that his legacy lives on.”

Williams continued, “We watched a few of their [Mali’s] games. They are a big, strong and very physical team but we know their weaknesses.

“We have studied them. We know what to expect. We don’t’ need to be worried a lot about them, we have our own strengths and our own way of doing things. So, we are confident that we will get a positive result.”