Keet: We can win without Mathoho

The reality of Bafana Bafana facing Algeria in their Africa Cup of Nations opener without Mulomowandau Mathoho sets in tonight.

But South Africa's last line of defence - goalkeeper Darren Keet - says the towering defender is not irreplaceable.

Mathoho is serving a one-match suspension and coach Shakes Mashaba has been toying with a few combinations in the build-up to the clash against the continent's No1 side at the Estadio de Mongomo. Keet is confident the Bafana back four will not fall apart without Mathoho.

"It's not such a big issue," says Keet. "In football everyone is replaceable. He was always a mainstay in our defence and did fantastically well and I think he got a few man-of-the-match awards leading up to the tournament.

"But we also have players like Anele [Ngcongca], Rivaldo [Coetzee], Tyson [Thulani Hlatshwayo] and we have brought in Ayanda [Gcaba]. I think we are completely covered in defence. We have all proved ourselves and everyone knows what we are capable of."

Keet watched the two Bafana warm-up matches against Cameroon and Mali, a 1-1 draw and 3-0 victory played in Libreville, Gabon, from the bench and thought Mashaba's men were convincing.

It looks like the coach will pair 18-year-old Coetzee with Hlatshwayo, who scored the first goal against Mali, in central defence.

"We have been solid and there are no issues about that. It is just a matter of keeping clean sheets," Keet said, adding that he was confident that his teammates will shield him from Algeria's danger man and BBC African footballer of the year, Yacine Brahimi.