Bafana Bafana were left to regret a plethora of missed opportunities and eventually went down 1-0 to the United States in the Nelson Mandela Challenge match at Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday night.
The United States kept their unbeaten record against South Africa intact thanks to a 84th minute strike from Juan Agudelo about six minutes from time.
The big talking point ahead of this match was Leeds United striker Davide Somma and the impact he would have on this game.
And his teammates certainly wanted to get him involved in the match early on, with Steven Pienaar especially, feeding him every time there was an opportunity.
The big striker, who only had two training sessions with the nation team, took too much time on the ball and took a while to adapt to Bafana’s free-flowing style of play. He also turns far too slowly for an international striker, and looked more like a battleship than a goal-poacher at times.
But on occasion, he showed some fabulous touches and the class that’s made him one of the best strikers in the English Championship.
And he certainly uses his big frame to his advantage when he troubled the US defenders inside their penalty area.
And Somma had an appeal for a penalty turned down by Kenyan referee Sylvester Kirwa in the 10th minute, when he was blocked off on in the United States’ penalty area.
Four minutes later Somma was in the thick of things again, this time sending a delightful ball through to Anele Ngcongca, who’s shot from point-blank range was well saved by US captain Brad Guzan.
Kaizer Chiefs’ left winger Siphiwe Tshabalala looked the liveliest of the South African midfielders in the first quarter. And it was his fantastic run and pass that set up Bernard Parker, but the FC Twenty striker couldn’t get his shot past the Guzan.
The United States’ first real chance came in the 22nd minute after Bafana failed to clear their lines. They got the ball unmarked on the edge of the area, before driving in a low shot at the Bafana Bafana goal. Fortunately, though, for the 51000-strong crowd, goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune managed to get down in time to prevent the ball from going into the back of the net.
Pienaar had a rather ordinary game by his standards. And his performance was personified by a slip just outside his own penalty area, resulting in a free kick for the visitors in a dangerous position. Pienaar, though, made up for the mistake by charging down Robbie Rodgers’ rocket of a shot.
The second half was even scrappier than the first, with both coaches ringing the changes.
But it seemed that it was US coach Bob Bradley’s substitutions which did the trick.
In the 55th minute, substitute striker Teal Bunbury turned his defender and had a crack at Khune’s goal. Unfortunately for him, though, he couldn’t generate the power off his left foot to test the South African goalkeeper.
Sthembiso Ngcobo replaced Somma just before the hour mark, and almost made an immediate impact, but his shot hit the side-netting, when a cross might have been the better option.
The US never really threatened again until the 84th minute when a superb piece of skill by substitute midfielder Mikel Diskerud created space for Agudelo to score the winner to break the crowd’s, Bafana’s and the coaching staff’s hearts. - Cape Times