BAFANA Bafana kicked off their Group D 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on a high.
Beating the strong fielded Guinea 2-1 at Orlando Stadium, on Saturday was no walk on a park though.
Coach Pitso “Jingles” Mosimane had to pull some magic by ringing in some worthy substitute to clinch a must win at the half packed stadium.
Relebohile Mofokeng missed a sitter one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but his lack of composure and decision-making inside the 18-yard area let him down. He needs to grow faster if he wants to compete against the best.
However, he must thank teammate, the defender Ime Okon who buried a loose ball from a corner kick.
The winning goal came from the substitution I had alluded at the top- with the introduction of Samukele Kabini, who used his physical strength to hold off a challenge and stick a fine low finish through the legs of Guinea’s ‘keeper Seydouba Sylla.
“I don’t want to take credit. We coaches sometimes want to sound intelligent because a goal was scored,” ‘Jingles’ was quoted post the match.
“It is a South African challenge that we don’t score easily, two out of six (chances) maybe. But you can’t complain, we had the right mentality, we wanted to play and fight and press,” said Mosimane on not finishing opportunities created by Bafana.
Bafana are in Egypt and will play Eritrea on Wednesday in their second Group D qualifier at the Al Salaam Stadium in Cairo.
They will then play Egypt in a friendly at the Cairo International Stadium on October 4.
Image provided (Coach Pitso Mosimane congratulating the winning scorer Samukele Kabini after Bafana beat Guinea 2-1 at Orlando Stadium.)
