South Africa 0 Nigeria 0
John Goliath
THE NEW Bafana Bafana are up for a fight. And they showed it last night with a gutsy 0-0 draw against African champions Nigeria at Cape Town Stadium.
Coach Shakes Mashaba will be happy with what he saw from his team in his first two matches in charge, after his youngsters were written off by many to make an impact at the start of this 2015 African Cup of Nations campaign.
But after the win against Sudan and a battling draw against the Super Eagles, there will be plenty of optimism for the rest of the campaign.
Bafana started the match brightly, with the hero of the first match in Sudan, Sibusiso Vilakazi having a real go at the Nigerian back four with a couple of determined runs.
Vilakazi injected pace into the home side’s initial attacks, but also isolated himself and didn’t quite get the support from his teammates. And that made it quite easy for the big Nigerian players to dispossess him.
During the national anthems, the contrast in size between the two sets of players was noticeable. And it became evident early on in the match when the visitors tried to outmuscle Bafana on and off the ball.
Bafana, though, managed to get out of the Super Eagles’ clutches a few times and got into some dangerous positions.
Mandla Masango put in a dangerous ball in the 6th minute from the right-hand side into the Nigerian penalty area. Oupa Manyisa managed to get to it first, but a Nigerian defender blocked his shot.
Andile Jali has emerged as the heart and soul of the new Bafana era under Mashaba. After a stellar performance in Sudan, he again took the fight to the Super Eagles when the game turned into a bit of scrap.
But the former Orlando Pirates man is also blessed with vision and a terrific touch. And he showed his class with a lovely ball to Manyisa’s feet in the Nigerian penalty area in the 18th minute.
However, Manyisa, a featherweight compared to last night’s opponents, was easily bumped off the ball and Nigeria conceded a corner.
Masongo’s corner was then delivered too short and the Nigerians broke away with plenty of pace down the field. However, Bafana left-back Thabo Matlaba managed to save the day. He intercepted a dangerous cross and hacked it to safety.
Nigeria’s first effort on goal came in the 36th minute when Nosa Igiebor picked up a loose ball on the edge of the Bafana box. But his shot went wildly over the bar after pressure from the Bafana defenders.
Nigeria were getting more into the game, their physicality coming to the fore big time. Bafana players were being man-handled off the ball in the middle of the park.
Some of it was illegal, though, as the referee let a lot of those challenges go late in the first half. And the pint-sized Matlaba tried to get his own back with a tasty tackle on Nigerian superstar John Obi Mikel.
The Chelsea man didn’t appreciate the warm welcome and he pushed Matlaba straight after the tackle, resulting in a bit of handbags between the players.
A Nigerian player was finally booked in stoppage time in the first half when Godfrey Oboabona was yellow-carded for a bad tackle on Erick Mathoho.
Striker Tokelo Rantie came on for Bafana in the second half for the ineffective Bongani Ndulula.
And the English-based Rantie gave Bafana a bit of a running option upfront, and an outlet from the physical midfield battle.
Rantie sprinted down the touchline in the 60th minute, but his shot from the left went past the wrong side of the post as far as Bafana were concerned.
Both teams lived dangerously towards the end of the second half, but it was Bafana who could have snatched a memorable victory.
Rantie outstripped his marker and managed to get himself one-on-one with the Nigerian goalkeeper. But unfortunately, he couldn’t get it past Nigeria captain Austine Ejide.