Goals
from either side of the half from Mandla Masango and Hlompho Kekana were enough
to see South Africa through, while Maile Tlali replied for Lesotho from the
penalty spot.
Bafana
Bafana head coach Gordon Igesund made three changes to the squad that lost to
Zambia in the semi-final – bringing on Masango, Lerato Chabangu and Mzikayise
Mashaba, with Ruzaigh Gamildien, Katlego Mashego and Thabani Mthembu making
way.
South
Africa started the brightest of the two nations, and dictated terms from early
on.
Their
real chance came in the 17th minute when Mashaba’s powerful close-range shot
was stopped by the Lesotho goalkeeper.
Three
minute later, much against the run of play, Bafana Bafana conceded a penalty
when Thulani Hlatshwayo was adjudged to have fouled an opponent in the box –
Tlale scored to give Lesotho the lead.
South
Africa kept on pushing forward and attacking at relentlessly but Lesotho held
firm. In the 40th minute Masango saw his shot cleared off the line with the
keeper well beaten.
But
there was no denying him three minutes later when he levelled matters – this
was after a well-worked free kick from Chabangu.
Shortly
after the restart, Chabangu could have been on the score sheet when, with the
keeper to beat, his lob sailed over the crossbar.
Bafana
Bafana took the lead in the 53rd minute following good play from Hlompho
Kekana. He collected the ball on the line, beat one marker and scored from a
difficult angle to make it 2-1. This was his second goal in the tournament, and
he walked away with the Man of the Match Award.
“As
a team we carried ourselves very well, the performance was great, we applied
ourselves very well and we can’t ask for more. We knew it was going to be tough
because all the teams want to beat us so we had to work very hard to get this
win. Good work from the coach and the technical team for getting this far in
the tournament. We really wanted to be in the final, but I guess third place is
also something to appreciate,” said Kekana.
Lesotho
was given a life-line in the 69th minute when Buhle Mkhwanazi was adjudged to
have handled the ball in the box. From the resulting penalty, Bafana Bafana
captain Wayne Sandilands kept his side in the match with a great save to deny
Maile - who had scored the first penalty for Lesotho.
And
that is how it stayed, South Africa earning themselves a third place finish in
the 2013 COSAFA CUP tournament.
“No
disrespect to Lesotho, but I think it was too easy for my players. Lesotho
relied heavily on counter attacks which did not really work. We had too many
chances to score and I hope the players will learn that we have to be more
clinical, more ruthless, finish the opponent off when we have a chance. But I
am quite happy with the result. It shows the boys wanted to be in the final and
they did well even though it’s not the same as being in the final. But I am
glad we won,” said Igesund.
The
Bafana Bafana mentor is also pleased with what he saw from the tournament, but
is adamant preparation has to be better than what transpired before South
Africa went to Zambia.
“I
want to believe it’s been a good experience for most of these players, at the
end of the day it was good exposure for them. I also saw a couple of good
things from one or two of them, and this tournament was a good stepping stone
for them to get that much needed experience. But I am still saying we have to
sit down and plan this thoroughly,” added Igesund.
“Our
approach in the future must be spot on. You need to get young players and mix
them well with the experienced ones. I have been saying that the U20 and U23
players have to start participating in tournaments like this one but for their
age group. Take them to Germany and around the world to get experience, not
bring them into Bafana Bafana to get that experience.”
Bafana
Bafana return to South Africa on Sunday, 21 July at 14h30.
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