FIRST BLOOD
MOLEFI Ntseki passed his first examination as Bafana Bafana head coach in Port Elizabeth yesterday when the South Africans secured a 2-1 victory over Mali in the Nelson Mandela Challenge.
It was a dream start for the former South Africa Under-17 boss in front of a packed and noisy Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Ntseki will probably be breathing a sigh of relief after finally getting his team to face some action and due to the fact that the camp was hit by numerous injuries to key players ahead of the game, but that didn’t prevent him from notching up a victory on debut.
Bafana enjoyed the bulk of the possession in the first 30 minutes yesterday but poor decision-making and lack of precision with their execution in front of the poles let them down.
On other hand, Mali looked like scoring whenever they were in possession in the final third.
They played at a frenetic pace and attacked with fluidity. Bafana keeper Ronwen Williams made three crucial saves to keep Mali at bay. The Supersport United shot-stopper produced a spectacular save seven minutes into the game.
Hadi Sacko unleashed a bullet from distance but Williams showed good reflexes to keep his side in the game. A few minutes later he was called into action again and made another comfortable save to deny Mamadou Fofana.
Bafana for their part created a few half-chances but didn’t trouble Adama Keita between the Mali sticks.
But the hosts eventually opened the scoring when Thulani Serero was fouled in the box by Cheikh Traore and the referee’s penalised Mali. Dean Furman stepped up and converted from the spot after 25 minutes.
The Bafana coach obviously had a keen eye on proceedings with him making some timely substitutions during the course of the game.
Keagan Dolly was substituted three minutes before the interval and his place was taken by Themba Zwanewho made an instant impact netting the second goal in the last action of the first half. It was a lovely move by Bafana that was orchestrated by Thapelo Morena, decorated by Thembinkosi Lorch and finished by Zwane with aplomb.
After the interval, the coach again shuffled things when Williams made way for Darren Keet.
It will remain a mystery what Ntseki told his team during the break but whatever it was, Bafana turned on the style in the second half.
They were all over Mali until the coach made numerous changes which ultimately affected their momentum. Bradley Grobler should have killed the game off in the 58th minute but his attempt sailed wide. Zwane was the provider this time around.
It appears as if the changes in the second half was because the Bafana coach wanted to test out as many new combinations as he could. Ntseki replaced the likes of Serero, Mokotjo, Lorch and Grobler. He brought on Lebogang Phiri, Thato Mokeke, Mosa Lebusa and Kermit Erasmus.
That affected their rhythm and brought Mali back into the game. The visitors reduced the deficit with 15 minutes to go before the final whistle.
Koita produced a good solo run to roll past the Bafana defence. He finished with aplomb and gave his side hope of conjuring up a sensational comeback but Bafana were resolute at the back in the last 15 minutes as they stretched their winning streak in the Nelson Mandela Challenge to six years.