Bafana Bafana completed a double over Mauritius beating the Indian Ocean islanders 2-0 in this CHAN return leg match played at Anjalay Stadium on a humid Sunday afternoon.
Having lost 3-0 in the first leg, Mandla Masango’s low free kick in the 68th minute and a late goal by Wandisile Letlabika consigned the islanders to a comprehensive 5-0 aggregate defeat.
Bafana Bafana will now play Angola for a place in the CHAN finals scheduled for Rwanda next year.
Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba’s boys started brightly in the opening minutes, buoyed by a considerable support from the South African embassy staff, pinning the hosts in their own half.
Gift Motupa with a fierce free kick in the 14th minute was the first to really test the hosts and Mandla Masango followed up with another sizzling shot on the 20th minute but on both occasions, Mauritius survived.
Siphelele Ntshangase then blasted over the bar in the 23rd minute from inside the box from a William Twala cross as Bafana Bafana continued to probe the hosts’ goal area.
Masango was proving a thorn in the flesh for Mauritius orchestrating most of the Bafana Bafana moves.
Captain Itumeleng Khune then rushed off his line in the 35th minute in one of Mauritius rare attacks.
Another string of passes produced another delicate chance but Masango’s final product was not good enough to trouble the Mauritius goal-minder on the 40th min.
The hosts immediately manufactured their own attack but Khune was at his best foiling Kevin Jean Louis.
Ntshangase then rifled a close effort tantalisingly wide as the match headed for half-time deadlocked at 0-0.
Mauritius survived a major scare when Gabuza went on a run on the right flank and his cross was almost turned into an own goal by the Mauritius defence as the referee blew for half-time whistle.
The second half followed more or less the first half pattern with South Africa showing more intent and Mauritius relying on sporadic counter-attacks.
Nyatama made a maze run a few minutes after the break but was foiled when he was about to open fire. Letlabika then made a great cross inside the box from a good Ntshangase run but Mauritius defence again cleared the danger.
In another rare Mauritius attack, Vincent Lafourde outpaced Kwanda Mngonyama but his effort went wide of the diving Khune.
Bafana Bafana’s William Twala saw his effort come off the cross bar as the hosts survived again before Nyatama’s vicious effort was saved by Mauritius keeper.
Mandla Masango’s close range effort was again parried back by the outstanding Mauritius goalkeeper as the visitors continued to chase for what appeared an elusive opening goal.
It was not long though before Bafana Bafana got the opening goal in the 68th minute when Masango’s shot from a free-kick, awarded just outside the box, was helped into an own net by the Mauritius defender to give the visitors a deserved goal.
Letlabika then made it 2-0 towards the end of the match following a delicate build up by Bafana.
Bafana Bafana starting 11 v Mauritius (Sunday, 5 July 2015 at Anjalay Stadium. Kick off 15h00 – 13h00 SA time) Itumeleng Khune (C), Tshepo Gumede, Kwanda Mngonyana, Wandisile Letlabika, Lehlohonolo Nonyane, Gift Motupa, William Twala, Musa Nyatama, Mandla Masango, Thamsanqa Gabuza, Siphelele Ntshangase
Subs: Jackson Mabokgwane, Vukile Mgqibisa, Modjeka Madisha, Thabang Monare, Bonginkosi Ntuli, Ndumiso Mabena, Thabo Mnyamane.
Chippa United owner Chippa Mpengesi says he never gave up faith in Roger Sikhakhane, despite axing the coach on a number of occasions.
Sikhakhane has returned for a fourth spell in charge of Chippa this season and received a glowing endorsement from the club’s owner on Monday.
“Sikhakhane has been with us for a long time and he is a man who always does well for the team,” Mpengesi said, before adding with a laugh: “Sometimes we give him long-term leave, he is tired, but we always ask him to come back when he is rested.”
The Chippa boss says it was the club’s supporters that demanded they bring back Sikhakhane after a dismal season in the 2014/15 when they narrowly escaped the relegation playoffs on the final day of the season.
“He is our Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. He is here not just because of me, the supporters demanded he must cut his leave short. When he left, things did not work well for us.”
Mpengesi says the club have allowed Sikhakhane to choose his own assistant coach, which has seen veteran Botswana tactician David Bright join the set-up.
“We are hoping that this time around, with all the support we have given him and the fact we have given him the choice of who he wants to work with, it will work out.
“He is a young, up-and-coming South African coach and one for the future. I am sure in the future we will see Bafana Bafana approach us for him.
“He knows our culture, he is a coach that listens to us and respects us and he will not undermine us. We believe we will have a successful campaign with him.”
All is on track for Chiefs - Shabba
Kaizer Chiefs winger Siphiwe Tshabalala says the team are enjoying life under new coach Steve Komphela and has given the thumbs-up to their raining programme ahead of the new season.
The AmaKhosi are working their way to full fitness with potentially two meetings against rivals Orlando Pirates before the new season starts.
The first could be in the four-team Kings Cup in Swaziland, with the second in the Carling Black Label Cup on August 1.
“It is looking good,” Tshabalala said on his personal website. “We are enjoying training and are working hard to get fit. It is only a matter of time until we have to get back to playing serious matches.
“With the pre-season matches also nearing we have to make sure that we up our fitness levels so as to avoid injuries.”
Tshabalala suggests the transition from former coach Stuart Baxter to Komphela has been smooth and the defending Premier Soccer League champions are itching to get back to playing matches.
“We have been in a break for a while now and I think that our supporters are ready to get back to the excitement of cup and league competitions,” he said.
“Exciting times are coming and we will be doing our best on the field to give our fans the bragging rights off the field.”
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