Fana calls for patience and accuracy
Whilst relieved that his team was able to reward their loyal fans with their first-ever Varsity Shield win, FNB Fort Hare coach Elliot Fana was far from happy with their performance against FNB UWC Monday night.
Fort Hare launched a dramatic second-half comeback to steal an 18-17 win in wet conditions over the University of the Western Cape in Alice, but Fana believes that his side are performing nowhere near their potential.
"We have developed an ugly pattern where if we start well we finish poorly, and if we start badly we finish well. We need to put a consistent eighty-minute performance together," the Fort Hare boss told varsitycup.co.za.
"Our unforced errors were even worse against UWC," he added.
"I understand that handling was difficult in the wet conditions, but the idea was that we should play a physical game and keep the ball close to one another."
Fana is keen to dispel the notion that his team are a one-dimensional outfit who cannot adapt to different conditions, and he felt that the game in the rain against UWC was the perfect opportunity to do just that.
He explained: "The gameplan was that we would keep it tight and be as physical as possible.
"I know people do not always look at us as a team that can play with it's tight five, they see us as a one-dimensional side that will always throw the ball around and run the ball in any conditions."
The Fort Hare coach is becoming increasingly frustrated watching his team make the same errors every week - something which he feels is holding them back from reaching their potential.
"My huge concern is the unforced errors that seem to have become a culture with us. It is like a sickness that we have to get rid of, because it has cost us three games already," he said.
"Yesterday the bounce of the ball was on our side, but in terms of finishing we were very poor. It was almost like we were playing our first game, but in actual fact it was the last game of the first round."
The passionate Fana knows exactly where he wants his team to improve in order to become more competitive at this level, saying: "Decision-making, handling errors and finishing are huge problems for us at the moment. I want an eighty-minute performance because at the moment we are playing in patches and it is working against us.
"I am looking for more accuracy, especially in the striking zone," he added.
"Once we hit the striking zone that is when we become impatient and unfortunately patience is not one of the skills that you can teach the guys, it is something that must come from within themselves."
The Fort Hare coach admitted to feeling pressurised by the weight of expectation from the committed home crowd in Alice.
He said: "The weather wasn't great but people came out in numbers. I am really feeling the pressure because when you see thousands of people giving away their family time and they come out there to support you and then at the end of the day you let them down, it lives with you and becomes some sort of punishment for you.
"You should have seen how terrible the weather was, you would not believe the numbers that we had and when UWC scored it was like a funeral in Alice," he added.
However, the one-point victory in the atrocious conditions did at least ensure that the home supporters in Alice had something to celebrate in the end.
"It meant a lot for the home crowd, after the post-match function I went to say thanks to the people and they were still there next to the field, singing and chanting," recalled Fana.
"It is something we draw a lot of strength from because our people really support us and we feel that responsibility."
By Michael de Vries
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