Johannesburg — Bafana Bafana’s chances of qualifying for the Afcon finals were left hanging by a thread after squandering a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Liberia in Friday night’s qualifier at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, Johannesburg.
This result means that the South Africans must win when they visit the Lone Stars in Monrovia on Tuesday night.
Currently, Bafana are second in Group K with one point, level with the third-placed Liberia, while World Cup semi-finalists Morocco are already through to the finals after bagging six points in the first two games.
Securing a ticket to Ivory Coast would see Bafana return to the finals for the first time since 2019 — a feat that would spell the first achievement for the team under coach Hugo Broos.
Since assuming the hot seat, Broos has had mixed fortunes — on and off the pitch. And that has put him under pressure to deliver or face the wrath of being shown the door.
So amid “positive feeling” ahead of this match, the players had to back-up the coach’s sentiments by doing the hard work: get the all-important win and take a step closer to the finals.
But boasting the best players on paper Bafana failed to step up when it mattered the most.
Broos’ team, though, looked like they wouldn’t leave anything to chance on Friday, with striking trio Percy Tau, Lyle Foster and Bongokuhle Hlongwane proving why they are on form for their respective clubs abroad.
By the 30th minute Foster had a brace after converting a penalty when Tau was brought down in the box by keeper Tommy Songos and heading home Teboho Mokoena’s corner-kick.
It was the sort of impact that even Burnley’s coach Vincent Kompany was probably proud of from his couch in England after he paid huge sums of money for the lanky striker in January.
Granted the handful of fans that graced this stadium saluted that brace, but Bafana’s game management and comfort was probably what appeased Broos the most thereafter.
In their last four friendlies, where they won three games and drew one, Bafana were hardly this good, especially in the exploitation of the pockets of space and rotation of the ball.
And that’s why heading into the break with only Foster’s brace wasn’t the total picture of the game, especially after Tau’s ability to cut into half-spaces like a hot knife through butter.
It was the sort of performance that Tau would be proud of upon his return to the national team after a long hiatus due to form and injuries, especially had he scored in the second half.
At some point, Tau looked to have all but wrapped up the game after scoring a brilliant free kick but that didn’t count as Bamlak Wayesa ruled against Bafana who should have played an indirect free kick.
Tau and Co. continued to press for a healthy lead, but allowed Liberia back into the game to undo all their work.
The Lone Stars made use of that lifeline as Tonia Tisdell pulled one back from a free kick before Mohammed Sangare scored a thunderbolt at death to salvage a huge point for his side.
IOL Sport