Bafana Bafana goalkeepers Renaldo Leaner, Ricardo Goss and Ronwen Williams are taken through their paces ahead of the international friendlies against Panama in March.
Image: Backpagepix
Two costly mistakes from Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Renaldo Leaner potentially cost him a spot at the 2026 Fifa World Cup during Sekhukhune United's 3-1 loss to Stellenbosch at a soaking-wet Athlone Stadium on Friday night.
Leaner was with the Bafana squad in the last Fifa window. Although he conceded in the 2-1 loss to Panama, indications were that coach Hugo Broos still liked him, especially after dropping Sipho Chaine.
Friday night’s mistakes, however, could all but spell the end of his World Cup aspirations, opening the door back for Chaine and some of the in-form goalkeepers such as Kaizer Chiefs captain Brandon Petersen.
It won’t only be Broos that will be disappointed with Leaner’s performance in Athlone, but his coaches and teammates as well. His blunder ensured that they started life after the recently sacked coach Eric Tinkler on a poor note, denting their top three aspirations. They remained fourth with 38 points, one behind AmaZulu, who have a game in hand.
Meanwhile, having lost their last game to Richards Bay, Stellies came into this game wanting to make up for lost ground.
They started well in that regard, taking a healthy 2-0 lead in the break before eventually winning the game 3-1. These were three points that ensured that Arrows kept their aspirations of finishing in the Top 8 alive as they remained ninth on the log with 31 points, just one behind the eighth-place Golden Arrows.
Stellies’ Godswill Enninaya opened the scoring for the hosts, the Nigerian blasting a scorcher into the roof of the net from close-range after making a solo drive from the midfield, making up for Devin Titus’ earlier miss.
Sekhukhune should have equalised in no time, but Sage Stephens pulled off a double save from Keletso Makgalwa, having done his best to organise his defence during set-pieces for the better part of the night.
While Stephens was the hero for Stellies, his counterpart Leaner became a villain soon thereafter. Sekhukhune tried to build from the back, resulting in Leaner making a poor "hospital pass" which Genino Palace latched onto before slotting his shot into the net.
Stellies started the second half with vigour in search of a healthier advantage, but their chances went begging, with no final man to poke the ball into the back of the net.
With Stellies wasteful, Babina Noko punished them. They launched an attack which Brighton Ndlovu finished off for his third goal in as many matches.
Sekhukhune’s hopes of a comeback were quickly dashed as Stellies restored their two-goal lead as Leaner produced another poor clearance, which was intercepted by Chumani Butsaka. The winger played a one-two pass with Titus, who put him through on goal, before slotting home.
It was a nightmarish night for Leaner that he was substituted for Toaster Ntsabata, expressing his frustration as he walked down the tunnel into the dressing room instead of the bench.
Leaner’s mistakes didn’t just cost his team three points, but potentially his World Cup spot with Bafana. Stellies, meanwhile, continued to make a case for a Top 8 berth.