Orlando Pirates striker Tshegofatso Mabasa left Bafana Bafana stand-in coach Morena Ramoreboli dazzled following his second-half heroics in the Cosafa Cup clash against Eswatini on Tuesday night.
Mabasa came from the bench and netted a brace to help Bafana beat Eswatini 2-1 in their Group A must-win encounter at the Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban.
The victory saw South Africa top their group with seven points and book a spot in the semi-finals of the regional competition.
Both sides went into the half-time break goalless, with neither side able to create clear-cut goal-scoring opportunities.
However, the visitors landed the first blow in the 55th minute when Bongwa Matsebula capitalised on a defensive error.
Ramoreboli made three quick, replacing Thabo Cele with Shaun Mogaila, Sepana Letsoalo leaving for Tshegofatso Mabasa, and Rowan Human making way for Tebogo Tlolane.
The changes by Ramoreboli paid dividends and saw Mabasa scoring two late goals to help Bafana advance to the last four.
“Tshego can score goals at any given time. He might not give you what [Sepana] Letsoalo would give you in terms of being quick into spaces, like [Iqraam] Reyners, but Tshego is a finisher,” Ramoreboli said after the game.
“Again, it was also a risk and a motivation for Tshegofatsho Mabasa because he needs to come back and remind people who Tshegofatso Mabasa [is].”
Bafana have now booked themselves a contest against the best runner-up Zambia in the semi-final on Friday. Kick-off is at 6pm.
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