Let’s pick ourselves up and move on – Furman

Bafana Bafana crowd favourite Dean Furman said the sooner they forgot about their Africa Cup of Nations heartache the better.

Furman, who was one of the outstanding members of the South African team, said they should focus on the next chapter, which is the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Bafana will be looking to get their campaign back on track when they play the Central African Republic next month. Bafana are third in the group after playing two successive draws against Ethiopia and Botswana.

A devastated Furman, who missed his penalty kick, is hopeful that the experience they gathered from the tournament will see them through.

“We need to pick ourselves up and move on and open a new chapter and hopefully it will be a successful one. I am really excited about the future,” said the Oldham Athletic midfielder.

He, however, conceded the quarterfinal clash against Mali was hard. “It was tough out there playing against those great players. They are quick and strong but we showed great fighting spirit and we worked hard. I am obviously devastated that we went out the way we did.”

Playing in his first Afcon tournament, Furman said he enjoyed every moment of it.

He said it was hard to reflect on the tournament as he was still upset with the team’s elimination but said the future looked bright for Bafana.

He said he would always be available for the team if selected for future matches.