More tears for Bafana

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA - JUNE 16: South Africa's Calvin Anele (L) vies for the ball with Ethiopia's Saladin Said (C) during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying football match Ethiopia vs South Africa on June 16, 2013 in Addis Ababa. (Photo by AFP PHOTO/SIMON MAINA/Gallo Images)

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA - JUNE 16: South Africa's Calvin Anele (L) vies for the ball with Ethiopia's Saladin Said (C) during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying football match Ethiopia vs South Africa on June 16, 2013 in Addis Ababa. (Photo by AFP PHOTO/SIMON MAINA/Gallo Images)

Published Jun 17, 2013

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Yet another qualifying campaign ended in tears for South Africa yesterday, Bafana Bafana overwhelmed in unbelievably intimidating conditions here to bow out of the race to Brazil 2014.

Amid song and dance and car sirens blaring throughout this city, Ethiopians deliriously celebrated a victory which sealed their place as Group A winners, proceeding to the last phase of qualifying which will see them drawn in a knockout format against any of their fellow group winners.

For Bafana, the manner of defeat was all too familiar, as they could not hold on to a lead Bernard Parker gave them, blew a glorious chance before the Walid Antelopes equalised against the run of play and, even more cruelly, Parker then scored the decisive own goal which sent Ethiopia through.

Bafana needed to win here to stand any chance of progressing to the next phase, but a draw would still have prevented another qualification campaign coming to a premature end, although it would merely had served to postpone the inevitable.

Some might wish to pin the blame on Parker for misdirecting a header past Itumeleng Khune when trying to clear, but the time has come for South Africans to accept that cutting corners does not work at this level.

Not since Korea-Japan 2002 have Bafana made the World Cup by qualifying, and the deterioration has been obvious in recent years as they failed to qualify for consecutive Africa Cup of Nations finals in 2010 and 2012.

Expecting that they would come here and usurp Ethiopia, who have been top of the group since the second qualifier and have not lost at this venue for over two years, was a tad optimistic for a bunch who have run short of heroic performances in recent years.

The scenes on the eve of the match, when as many as 2000 Ethiopians camped outside the stadium to surround Bafana’s bus and intimidate them with song and dance following their training session, may also have been too much for some members of Gordon Igesund’s team who were experiencing such an atmosphere for the first time.

It was even more raucous before kick-off, with thousands queuing outside the 25000-seat venue, and several hundred others risking their lives clambering on to lofty buildings around the stadium just to catch a glimpse of the match. There were reports of as many as 50000 around the stadium premises, who were prevented from pushing in by adequate security arrangements.

To their credit, however, Bafana initially dealt pretty well with the pressure mounted on them by boos and heckling from home fans. They were the better side for most of the opening period, although Reneilwe Letsholonyane wasted a great opportunity after just seven minutes.

Thuso Phala also sent a shot just wide, perhaps selfishly as a pass to a free Siphiwe Tshabalala might have produced a better result. At the other end, Khune dealt routinely with Saladin Said’s long-range effort, while Parker tested Jemal Tasew with a stinging shot that the ’keeper did well to parry back into play.

Parker was getting closer and closer to a goal, his 30th-minute header cleared off the line by Minyahile Teshome, but the striker got it right just three minutes later. Khune picked out his Kaizer Chiefs teammate with a perfect long ball that Parker controlled, outrunning the Ethiopian defence before firing past Tasew.

It was precisely what Bafana required to subdue the home fans. The stadium fell into silence as Bafana led, and it could have been worse for the home side when Parker’s interception created a great opportunity for the visitors to get a second goal. After getting the ball, Parker sent it to Tshabalala who in turn fed Letsholonyane with a great pass, only for the latter to send a weak shot straight into Tasew’s hands.

That was undoubtedly the turning point of the match.

Instead of being two goals down, Ethiopia were level just two minutes later, Getaneh Kebede beating Khune after Bafana’s defence hesitated.

The second half saw Igesund going for the jugular, but it was still inexplicable why he didn’t give Phala more time as his pace was troubling the opposition. His replacement, Tokelo Rantie, almost scored with his first touch, but his shot was bravely blocked by the Ethiopian defenders.

Ethiopia got the winner in the most fortunate manner, Parker unwittingly heading in Abrebaw Butako’s cross from a free-kick. With 20 minutes to go, there was no coming back for Bafana and the hosts’ fans went wild at the end.

- Ethiopia (1) 2

Kebede 42, Parker 70-og

South Africa (1) 1

Parker 33 The Star

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