South Africa/Sudan: South Africa Off to a Flier

Photo: CAF^[1]

Bafana player fights for ball during an AFCON clash against Sudan

Ephraim Masbaba's first game in charge was a success guiding South Africa's Bafana Bafana to a shocking 3-0 win over Sudan in their Group A opener on Friday in Omdurman.

On a night that saw the home crowd cheer on their stars with great optimism, it was the visitors who returned to their base with the maximum thanks to a spirited second half performance.

After being pushed to their half for the better of the opening minutes, Bafana Bafana responded positively by scoring three goals in the second half to wrap up victory in grand style.

The Desert Hawks threw everything at Mashaba's men, but were wasteful in front of goal whilst South African goalie Senzo Meyiwa also pulled some good saves to deny the hosts.

Two minutes into the game, Sudan forced through two corner kicks but nothing came out of it. Few minutes later, Tokelo Rantie was also gifted with two opportunities to put the visitors in the lead but failed to make good of them.

The South African defence were kept busier from both left and right flank with Ramadan Agab and Bakri Abdul Gadir attacking from either side.

The South Africans were solid in the middle marshalled by Dean Furman, relying on the counter attack led by Rantie.

Bafana Bafana appeared the better team in second half and came out with a much more attacking intent.

Mashaba introduced Sibusiso Vilakazi for Rantie, and the former broke the deadlock on 55 minutes from a goal mouth action.

Four minutes later, Vilakazi doubled the lead with a bullet shot that Sudan goalie Al Moez Mahgoub could not handle for the second goal.

On 79 minutes, Bongani Ndulula sealed victory with the third goal by tapping in a cross from the left.

Substitute Muhannad Tahir almost gave the Sudanese fans some cause to cheer but his header five minutes from time ricocheted off the post, denying them of a consolation.

Reactions

Mohamed Abdallah 'Mazda' (Coach, Sudan)

"My team's performance changed in the second half. We dominated the game totally in the first 15 minutes and created many chances to score. The players never had their day and were shocked by South Africa's first goal. After, we played bad in the remaining minutes."

Ephraim Mashaba (Coach, South Africa)

"Our strategy worked very well. We knew that they were going to attack in the first 25 minutes which they did, but in the last 10 minutes my team started playing. In the second half, we realized we need experienced players because we saw many spaces in the opponent's defence and we scored. It was a tough game overall. We are playing Nigeria on Wednesday and this win has boosted the morale of the boys. The result was good and will help us approach the next game."

References

1. ^{^} CAF (www.cafonline.com)