A fall of the Pharaohs for AFCON QUALIFIER

BY: Mohau Ramashidja

The AFCON qualifier match between South Africa and Egypt turned out to be entertaining. With the Pharaohs in chase for a win, desperation remained visible for the South African side to see. “They are desperate people who understand that a win will do for them to qualify.  You can just image how this game is important for us to win against Egypt,” said Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane before the match.

The battle between the Pharaohs and the Bafana squad kicked off right in the center of Egyptians’ capital city, Military stadium. With South Africa standing without a lose at the top of their group stage, they were determined to keep matters unchanged.

In the first six minutes of the match, it was a ‘do as I do’ situation, as the Egyptian’ side remained reciprocal in every tackle and attempt on goal made by the Bafana side.

As the match progressed. The Pharaohs went all out to come up with maneuvers to serge through the opposition’s defense. But Bafana was solid enough to disappoint their competitors.  It was a game of pace and basic football, the only act to slow each other down was through the act of foul play.

And it was in the 23^rd minute that South African captain Siphiwe Tshabalala who got a yellow card after stopping a promising pass with his arm.

Besides having a slow defense, frustration was an extra weight on the Pharaohs, granting South Africa a platform to be impressive defensively and prove dominance in the mid-field.

Being on a chase to secure a goal and avoiding to being scored, Pharaohs had to stretch every muscle in their body to kick the ball out of play when their opposition attacked. In the 27^th minute SA’s defender Sangweni’s header was denied by the Egyptian keeper, living the fans to gasp for air.

The Pharaohs starting to lose momentum, the Egyptian fans came in to play by flashing green laser lights onto Bafana players’ eyes. But that didn’t stop South Africa to prove dominance in their play.

Only with his seventh appearance in the national squad Andile Jali conducted the South African mid-field with no problems from the opposition.

Having beaten the Egyptians 1-0 the first time around, S.A striker Katlego Mphela sought to produce a 2010 march the 26^th déjà vu only to be denied by the keeper who appeared to be prepared for the challenge this time around.

In the second half the Pharaohs showed more thirst for goal, only to be denied by Itumeleng Khune who kept all attempts on goal at bay.

Failure to keep up with the pace Egypt was force into making a substitution to maintain control of the game. It was in the 56^th minute that after a well sheared ball amongst S.A players– to a vital touch just to dumb the keeper, that Mphela missed the opportunity to secure a lead. Approaching the twilight of the match Egyptian football lost rhythm and flair. Running out of options, Egyptian keeper found himself out of the goalpost to help his side in attack. With the Egyptian nets unattended to Tshabalala’s shot was unable to find its way to the back of the net.

Every striking attempt by the Pharaohs turned out to be Khune’s opportunity to show off his goalkeeping skills. Forced into substitution S.A striker Parker made his was out of the field due to an injured leg.

With time running out, no option was left for the North African referee to increase the time by seven minutes. With the whole off Egypt hoping that the additional time would work in their advantage. It was South Africa who had more desire for goal, but Tlou Segolela was denied by the ever-focus Egyptian keeper.

Match ended at 0-0.