WeeklySA_AdminSTALEMATE: Bucs prodigy rises to occasion late in the game for Bafana to earn a draw
By Sports Reporter
Bafana Bafana clawed their way back from two goals down to force a last-gasp 2-2 draw with Uganda during an at times nerve-raking 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier at Orlando Stadium on Friday night.
Uganda had thought that they were on the cusp of a famous victory in South Africa, but debutant Thalente Mbatha had other ideas and snatched the precious equaliser deep in the referee’s optional time to ensure a sharing of the spoils.
Bafana Bafana were in control in the first half and were rewarded when Lyle Foster beat Uganda goalkeeper Rashid Watenga to set the ball rolling in the 14th minute. Coach Hugo Broos’ charges dominated proceedings during the period and should have increased their lead, such was their stranglehold on proceedings.
Man of the match Oswin Appollis was having the time of life leading the Uganda rearguard a merry dance and it was a surprise that the home side only had Foster’s 14th minute strike to show for their trouble. Broos’ charges would rue those missed opportunities as Uganda scored two quick second-half goals from Denis Omedi and Rogers Mato, stunning the generous Orlando Stadium crowd.
Tension grew inside the stadium as the game went past the 90-minute mark and into the referee’s optional time. It was left up to Mbatha to break Uganda hearts and send Orlando Stadium into pandemonium.
Bafana Bafana now travel to South Sudan on Saturday for their second AFCON qualifier on Tuesday, 10 September 2024.
The match on Friday marks exactly marks three years and four months – approximately 1 218 days – since Broos was introduced as Bafana coach on May 5, 2021.
South African Football Association (SAFA) President Dr Danny Jordaan has wished Bafana Bafana well ahead of the start of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign on Friday.
Coach Hugo Broos’ charges open their AFCON account when they face Uganda at home at Orlando Stadium on Friday, 06 September 2024 (6pm), and then they travel to South Sudan to play their second match in the group on Tuesday, 10 September 2024.
The game on Friday marks three years and four months – approximately 1 218 days – since Broos was introduced as Bafana coach at the SABC studios in Auckland Park on 5 May 2021.
The late Clive Barker who won the maiden AFCON title with Bafana Bafana in 1996 before qualifying the nation to its first-ever FIFA World Cup appearance in France in 1998, had a stint of three years and nine months from March 1994 until December 1997 remaining the longest serving Bafana coach ever.
SAFA president Dr Danny Jordaan said memories of the team winning bronze at the previous AFCON in Côte d’Ivoire in February 2024 are still very fresh in the mind as the senior South African men’s national team begins the journey to the 2025 tournament in Morocco.
“We want to wish the team well as they begin this journey and we want them to know that we as a country are fully behind each and every member of the Bafana Bafana camp,” Dr Jordaan said.
