Johannesburg — Bafana Bafana had a successful international break after recording wins in their two friendlies against Sierra Leone and neighbours Botswana.
Bafana drubbed the Leone Stars 4-0 in their first friendly on Saturday, before beating the Zebras 1-0 at FNB Stadium on Tuesday.
Bafana will now turn their attention to the friendlies in November as they’ll continue to prepare for two key 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
In those qualifiers, they will face Liberia in back-to-back matches that they must win those games to stand a chance of securing their spot in the Ivory Coast.
Coach Hugo Broos had already indicated that he would love to stick with this team going forward, especially given the camaraderie among the players.
And coming to Tuesday’s game, he had made it clear he would change the entire team that beat Sierra Leone as he wanted to give other players a chance.
There were a few debutants in Tuesday’s match, including Kaizer Chiefs striker Ashely Du Preez.
But the opening stages of the game belonged to the Zebras, as they controlled possession only to be let down by their final penetration.
As the game approached the half-hour mark, Bafana started to take a grip on matters, catching the Zebras on the break, trying to find Du Preez.
Du Preez missed Bafana’s first chance as he went one-on-one with goalkeeper Lesenya Malapelae who made himself big and blocked the effort.
That missed chance didn’t deter Du Preez as he tested the waters again with a hard and low effort, only to force another save from Malapelae.
Du Preez may have had the most chances, but it was Khanyisa Mayo who was the livewire up front. Such that he won the free-kick that led to the opener.
Teboho Mokoena scored the resultant free-kick on the stroke of half-time, drilling a hard and low effort into the corner, leaving Malapelae helpless.
Bafana went into the break ahead. They tried to double their tally in the early stages of the second half, only to be let down by their finishing.
With the progression of the second half, Bafana started to become complacent as they were pinned in their half by Botswana.
As a result, Rushine De Reuck made a goal-line clearance after keeper Veli Mothwa was beaten in a one-on-one duel after he had committed.
But the AmaZulu No 1 redeemed himself as he made a pin-point save from a Mosha Gaolaolwe shot, before the latter missed the resultant rebound.
Bafana had a chance to wrap up the game in the dying stages of the match as Mokoena was unleashed from midfield with a lovely pass.
But the Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder decided to go for a cut-back, which was cleared for a corner-kick by Botswana.
In the end, though, Mokoena’s free-kick was enough to hand Bafana the important win as they will now focus on two friendlies in November.
IOL Sport