The name Lyle Foster is on the lips of every South African football fan after his meteoric rise at Premier League club Burnley, where he has flourished since his move from Belgian Second Division outfit KVC Westerlo.
After three matches for Burnley's 'Clarets' the Soweto-born Foster has scored two goals in consecutive games against Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur.
Foster's goals were not enough to guide Burnley to victory, but the two goals have earned him a place alongside the celebrated Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah on the Premiership's leading goal scorers list, although the Egyptian with two goals, has played one match more.
On Tuesday, Foster produced a 'Man of the Match' performance after scoring a goal which was enough to guide Bafana Bafana to victory over a strong DR Congo side in an international friendly at Orlando.
Zwane injury forced a change
Bafana coach Hugo Broos was not able to use Foster in a way that he felt his talents could be best used because of numerous injuries in the squad. The absence of injured Themba Zwane forced Broos to change his game plan, and use the striker in an unfamiliar false-nine or playmaker role.
After the match, Broos said: "We knew that we had a little problem because Themba Zwane was not there, so we needed to find a solution.
"This is not his position (playmaker) but I was just trying him there so that we could find a solution. But it's not a solution, but again, Lyle was important for the goal.
"This is also something (the way we used him) that is positive, even for his team Burnley. They (Burnley) have zero points, but he has scored already two times.
"This is also good for his confidence and also good for us (South Africa), to have a player that can score."
Thanks to Foster's match-winner, Bafana has now racked up a nine-game unbeaten streak under Broos. It was his fourth goal in 11 appearances for Bafana.
Despite being played out of position, Broos was impressed with the way Foster capitalised on a situation after the Congo defence failed to clear their lines after a Percy Tau shot was blocked in the penalty area.
"It was not even on a real location to score, but he is there. He is dangerous and he showed it again," said Broos, adding: “You can’t blame him if we didn’t see what we wanted to see, because this is not his position."
Playing out of position
Broos will not easily play Foster out of position again because his attack did not have the desired impact.
“I can't say it was bad with Foster and Zakhele (Lepasa), but I don't think it was also good," said Broos. “Having five, six best players injured is a bit too much. (Teboho) Mokoena and (Bongokuhle) Hlongwane weren't there, and a few others. We don't have solutions now to replace these players.”
Foster himself is feeling good about Bafana Bafana and this augers well for Afcon.
“We’ve got good players, especially up front as well," said Foster. "We have Zakes (Lepasa) and we have Lebo (Mothiba) who are doing well (in their leagues). We can learn from each other, and other good attackers are on form as well.
"I don’t think there’s a lack of class in the national team. We try to learn from one another.”
Given Banyana Banyana's unprecedented Fifa World Cup success, the pressure is on Bafana to repeat the heroics of the 1996 Afcon when the national team scaled the heights of continental glory.