Young Bafana held by Swazis
Brad Morgan
14 March 2007
A one-all draw against Swaziland was probably not the start to his tenure as Bafana Bafana coach that Carlos Alberto Parreira was looking for. However, there were extenuating circumstances, and some good to take away from Tuesday night's contest in Johannesburg.
Due to a scheduling clash, Parreira was unable to select any players from the in-form PSL leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, while South Africa's big overseas-based contingent of players was also unavailable for the game.
The match, played at Ellis Park, was organised as a training warm-up for next week's African Cup of Nations qualifier with Chad. Truth be told, however, maybe a handful of the youngsters that Parreira fielded on Tuesday night are likely to be in the squad for the Chad clash.
Rocked early on
Bafana Bafana were rocked early on, in the seventh minute, when Supersport United midfielder Dennis Masina easily beat Jimmy Tau and George Mofokeng
before passing square to Tony Tsabedze for a simple tap-in.
South Africa had a great opportunity to level matters after 23 minutes when Scara Ngobese found himself in a one-on-one with only the goalkeeper to beat, but he failed to take advantage of the opportunity.
Siyabonga Nkosi also went close, but arrived fractionally too late to put a header away.
The home team was dominating possession and creating plenty of chances but, once more, the strikers were poor in front of goal. Mabhuti Khanyaze was especially wasteful.
A more attacking formation
Bafana Bafana went into halftime down by a goal, but after the break they emerged in a more attacking frame of mind, switching from a 4-5-1 formation to one that employed two, and at times three, strikers.
Ajax Cape Town's Terror Fanteni responded by pulling South Africa level just after the resumption of the game, thanks to a cross from Bernard Parker.
Later in the game
Fanteni nearly put the home team in front with a clever back-heel, but the Swaziland defence held firm.
In the seventy-seventh minute, substitute Petros Mahlatsi was guilty of missing a sitter, an effort that left even the striker holding his head in his hands in disbelief. The crowd was none too happy, either.
Excelled
Despite the woeful finishing, it was not all doom and gloom for Bafana. Teenager Clifford Ngobeni excelled with his accurate passing and was the dominant force in midfield.
He put his hand up as a player Parreira might consider for the SA squad to contest the 2010 World Cup on home soil.
Speaking after the game, the coach said the result is always important, but the most important thing about the match was to assess the players.
Players turning out for the national side, he said, allowed him a far more accurate barometer for evaluating their performances than they did in club matches.
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