An insider in the Bafana Bafana camp has attributed the national team's woes, which saw them draw their AFCON qualifier against Uganda 2-2 last Friday, to the late start of the Betway Premiership season.
Hugo Broos' charges threw away a chance to grab all three points when they allowed the visitors to score two quick goals in the second half, in a match played at Orlando Stadium.
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"The PSL starting later in the year has caused a big problem for the team because not a lot of Bafana Bafana players have been playing, especially the goalkeepers," the insider reasoned, speaking to KickOff.
"Veli Mothwa played no competitive games, he only played friendlies, and Ricardo Goss only played one game. But they both had international experience, and they [have] both played with this team throughout the last three years.
"So, the decision to play one of them made sense to the technical team because they've been with the team for longer.
"Sipho Chaine, on the other hand, has played a few games recently, in the last month or so, but he has not played any international football. He has no international experience. He hasn't played at this level before," added the source.
Furthermore, the insider says when a goalkeeper has to step up from club football to the international level, they find it is quite a big step and so the adjustment may not be as smooth as planned.
"So, the Bafana technical team didn't want to throw him into the deep end.
"However, what happened against Uganda is being assessed, and today, different decisions might be made. Nobody knows which goalkeeper is going to play because usually, goalkeepers have to play regularly to keep their confidence up.
"The Bafana Bafana coaching department believes if a goalkeeper plays a competitive match, he feels a different [kind of] pressure than he would in a friendly match. Therefore, he needs to be trained to deal with those pressure environments.
"The last game with a pressure environment Mothwa played was in May, and now we are in September.
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"So, the PSL starting late has affected the national team. Even the outfield players are not as fit as they would wanna be, and that's because they haven't played.
"It's only been a few clubs that have played competitive games."