AFCON 2019: Deon Hotto on 'unexpected' Bafana Bafana & Namibia level compared to Bidvest Wits
Namibia winger Deon Hotto admits he was shocked by the level of performance of Bafana Bafana and shared insight into how The Brave Warriors squad compares to Bidvest Wits. South Africa scraped past their COSAFA rivals with a solitary strike from Bongani Zungu after coach Ricardo Manetti's side put up a fighting display. READ: Kekana on Baxter's tactical instructions And Hotto concedes his side was shocked by South Africa's first-half display last Friday. "To be honest I didn't expect them to play on this level," Hotto told snl24.com/kickoff. "They were a bit shaky against us. In the first-half [at Al Salam] we were all over them - they came out stronger in the second-half though." After an impressive domestic season with Bidvest Wits in which he directly contributed to 21 goals, much was expected from the flying left-winger. However, the decision-making and composure that has plagued him for most of his career in the Absa Premiership was telling - which he duly noted in an honest self-reflection. READ: SA is not growing at all - Zwane "As a footballer, whenever you beat your opponent, it's about that final decision-making, it's always a problem, against South Africa when I went in through on goal I was meant to play the ball across goal but I was off balance and I then ended up taking a poor shot. "I had a good season at my club, but look it's different here [compared to Wits], some of the players, we are not always together." When quizzed on the level of his Students teammates to the Namibia squad, he offered a long pause before an eventual response. READ: There's many ways to win - Baxter "That's a very tough question, remember, we haven't had a league for two seasons now and many of these players play at home," Hotto explained. "It's a bit difficult with them but the coach always tries to keep these guys together that represent the national team, take them early for camp before the rest of us arrive to work together as a team." Namibia were eliminated from the competition after three defeats in three games in Group D alongside South Africa, Morocco and Ivory Coast.