Bafana blow hot and cold

Pienaar and Somma book-ended the first half with a couple of goals, but ought to have had a hatful more.

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Phokeng: The Royal Bafokeng Stadium announcer, the wonderfully named Sammy Fever, produced some quizzical, amused expressions before kickoff last night – one of them when he announced that Bafana Bafana were “improving dismally”.

Fever’s slightly misguided reference was mostly due to the Fifa world rankings, but it turned out to be a more decent accidental analogy of Bafana’s healthy, yet slightly unconvincing 2-0 victory over an awful Kenyan side.

The last-minute replacements for Burkina Faso looked exactly that, and Pitso Mosimane’s side ought to really have run in a rugby score in front of an eager, if numerically disappointing crowd in Phokeng.

Their finishing was, to borrow from Mr Fever, dismal, though their performance continued their improvement under Mosimane, with Steven Pienaar revelling in possession of the captain’s armband.

Mosimane will be happy that Bafana at least created plenty of opportunities, though it is almost impossible to gauge next month’s African Nations Cup qualifier against Egypt against this match, given the nature of the opposition.

Bafana will certainly have to be more clinical in front of goal against the Pharaohs. Davide Somma may have netted his debut Bafana goal after just 68 seconds, but his subsequent performance illustrated just how much the side need a sulking Katlego Mphela.

The one surprise in Mosimane’s line-up for this game was the omission of his captain Aaron Mokoena, with Siyabonga Sangweni preferred in the centre of defence.

Pienaar took up the armband for the second successive game in Mokoena’s absence. Perhaps Moismane knew he could afford to weaken his defence a little, with a poor Kenya team unlikely to pose too much of threat.

And so it proved, as Bafana book-ended the first half with a couple of goals, but ought to have had a hatful more.

Somma had his parents in the crowd for this game, flying over all the way from Tampa Bay in the USA.

And they got instant reward for their air miles, Somma arriving at the near post to turn in Anele Ngcongca’s cross, for his debut Bafana goal in only his second game. Somma, however, really ought to have had a hat trick inside the first 15 minutes.

First, Bernard Parker got in a cross from the byline, that Kenya’s comedy goalkeeper Zacharia Onyango, who looked utterly out of his depth, fumbled at the feet of the Leeds United striker. But Somma, from two metres out, could only hit the post.

Pienaar then produced a fine through-ball to release Somma, but this time his shot was too close to Onyango, and was blocked away.

Kenya’s main threat came, as expected, from AJ Auxerre striker Dennis Oliech, who gave Bafana’s central pairing some uncomfortable moments. He tore away from Bongani Khumalo, but shot straight at Itumeleng Khune.

Then, a mistake by debutant left back Mzuvukile Tom handed him a better chance, but despite cutting past Sangweni, he fired wide.

Andile Jali also looked far from comfortable in the defensive midfield role, needlessly giving the ball away on more than one occasion, and when he was robbed by Oliech’s strike partner Victor Mugubi, he was lucky to see the Kenyan also miss the target.

Still, it was Bafana creating most of the opportunities, Pienaar wasting a wonderful chance after bursting through from midfield, but also pulling his shot wide.

Tom finally began to get some space down the left flank, and his brilliant cross was skewed wide by Somma, bringing on some calls for his substitution by some rather impatient fans.

Jali then had a screamer tipped over by Onyango, but there was little the Kenyan goalkeeper could do from the resulting corner.

Tshabalala pulled the corner short to Pienaar, who fired an excellent low shot into the corner of the net, for only his third goal in 57 appearances for his country.

Somma missed another glorious opportunity at the start of the second half, as Parker put him in with a sublime through-ball, but Onyango just about got out to smother.

Pienaar’s free kick then came back off the post, before a lovely interchange of passes saw Parker’s shot just about kept out by the Kenyan goalkeeper.

Both coaches rang the changes as the second half progressed, but Bafana continued to be wasteful in front of goal, substitute Thulani Serero blazing a good chance well off-target. - Cape Times

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/bafana-blow-hot-and-cold-1.1024023

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