A second-string Bafana Bafana side defeated Ghana 1-0 in a friendly international game that was held at the Dobsonville Stadium on Tuesday afternoon. It was a send-off match for the South Africans as they embark on the much more serious Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) mission, which will start this weekend.
A decent crowd arrived at the Soweto venue to cheer for their heroes and to bid them a farewell, considering that it was a midweek public holiday.
Even though the match lacked goals, the crowd was kept entertained by the players, with Sipho “Master Chef” Mbule spraying beautiful passes and unleashing some impressive dribbling trickery. Mbule crowned his performance with a beautiful long-range goal after the halftime break.
Opening match against Angola
Bafana will depart for Morocco on Wednesday and will be based in Marrakech. They will open their Afcon campaign against Angola on Monday. It was an opportunity for Bafana coach Hugo Broos to give some of his fringe players a chance to prove their worth ahead of Africa’s biggest sports tournament.
The likes of goalkeeper Ricardo Goss, Thabang Matuludi and Khulumani Ndamane were given a rare chance to be on the starting line-up. They raised their hands and showed some grit and determination to own their places in the team. It may have been a weakened Ghana team, but they sure did give Bafana a decent run for their money.
After going to the halftime break scoreless, Broos’ side came back from the break more charged up and eager to give the fans something to celebrate. It was by no mistake when Mbule opened the scoring and gave the home side the lead. There were cheers when Broos made substitutions to give the likes of Relebohile Mofokeng, Teboho Mokoena, Oswin Appollis, and Evidence Makgopa a chance to come on.
