Bafana’s penalty misery 18 July By John Goliath Zambia 0 South Africa 0 Zambia win 5-3 on penalties Ndola - Bafana Bafana suffered penalty shoot-out heartache for the second time in a major tournament this year when they were beaten by hosts Zambia in the semi-final of the Cosafa Cup on Wednesday night. A chorus of boos rang out each time a South African stepped up to take a penalty here at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium. And it was one of the experienced players in the squad, Lerato Chabangu, who saw his penalty saved. Bafana also went down on penalties to Mali in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations on home soil at the start of year. In Wednesday night’s other semi-final, Zimbabwe beat Lesotho 2-1 to qualify for Saturday’s final. Bafana were fortunate not to concede in the first half, after being run ragged by the energetic Zambians. The home side attacked with pace and skill down the flanks, with hot Zambian wingers Bruce Musakanya and Mukuka Mulenga having their way with the South African full-backs, and getting in dangerous balls into the penalty area. Bafana’s defenders also looked a bit nervous, sometimes taking one too many touches to clear their lines. They seemed to be intimidated by the small, but vocal home supporters on the stands, especially young Tshepo Gumede. It also didn’t help that Bafana’s midfield couldn’t manage to put more than three passes together in the transition. The Zambians put pressure on South Africa, and did not allow them to be too comfortable on the ball. Bafana were forced to play backwards, before hoofing the ball upfield in hope. But the new frontmen, Thabani Mthembu and Katlego Mashego, who were part of five changes to the Bafana starting line-up from the quarter-final win over Namibia, were starved of the ball. Of course, the men in green and yellow don’t have the height to compete against the powerful Zambian back line, with the Copper Bullets easily regaining possession to launch another attack on the South African goal. However, the tournament hosts lacked that killer instinct in the final third of the pitch. They also didn’t have the luxury of a Christopher Katongo or Collins Mbesuma. Festus Mbewe, who led the Zambian attack, thought he’d scored in the 12th minute, but was adjudged to have fouled Bafana captain Wayne Sandilands after they contested for the ball in the air. Lebogang Manyama and Ruzaigh Gamaildien had two glorious chances on the hour mark to give Bafana an unlikely lead from a corner. But Manyama hit the post with his header, before Gamildien ballooned his shot over the crossbar from point-blank range. Both teams had their chances in extra time to win the game, but in the end the dreaded penalty shoot-out had to decide the winner. The Star
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 06:03:13 +0000
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