Bafana Bafana beat Mali 2-1 in the 25th Nelson Mandela Challenge to get coach Mofeli Ntseki’s tenure off to a winning start on Sunday.
A penalty from Dean Furman and a strike from Themba Zwane in the first half sealed the deal for the hosts in the clash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Mali looked more threatening in the early stages, with SA goalkeeper Ronwen Williams forced to make two saves inside the opening 10 minutes with Bafana’s defence ball-watching.
But the hosts got their foot on the ball and were awarded a penalty after the impressive Thulani Serero was brought down in the penalty area.
TURNED ON THE STYLE: SA’s Maela. Picture: Deryck Foster/BackpagePix.
Dean Furman stepped up to the spot to fire SA into a 23rd-minute lead and his fourth goal in the gold and green.
Skipper Thulani Hlatshwayo had to be on his toes to deny Mali an immediate response, with a sliding tackle inside the area.
BACK ON TOP: Bafana held on to the Madiba Challenge Cup. Picture: Deryck Foster/BackpagePix.
But it was Bafana who got the next goal when Zwane, just four minutes after replacing the injured Keagan Dolly, got on the end of a quick raid to make it 2-0 on the stroke of half time.
The ball moved from the goalie to back of the Mali net with seven passes.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/BafanaBafana?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BafanaBafana🇿🇦 2-1 Mali 🇲🇱 , Ntseki off to a winning start against quality opposition. Now for #AFCON2021Q next month. #sabcnews @SPORTATSABC pic.twitter.com/dtJ8B4jWss
— Velile Mnyandu 🇿🇦 (@Velile_Mnyandu)
Coach Ntseki looked to shut up shop, bringing on Thato Mokeke and Lebogang Phiri for Kamohelo Mokotjo and Serero.
But the Eagles found a way through 20 minutes from time as Red Bull Salzburg ace Sekou Koita played a one-two on the edge of the Bafana area, before thumping a left-foot effort beyond substitute keeper Darren Keet.