Bafana bring Namibia to their knees, get Afcon campaign back on track

Bafana Bafana’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) campaign is back on track.  

This after South Africa annihilated Namibia 4-0 in the Cosafa derby played at Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo in Ivory Coast on Sunday.     

Bafana needed to win the match at all costs after they kicked off the Afcon on a poor note, going down 2-0 to Mali.     

The South Africans may have not enjoyed a lot of possession in the game, but their plan to catch Namibia on counter attacks worked perfectly.     

Themba Zwane scored a brace while Percy Tau and Thapelo Maseko, who played off the bench, finished the match with a goal each.     

The victory took Bafana to second place in group E with three points, one behind Mali. South Africa will play Tunisia, who are bottom of the table, in their final match in the group.     

Just like they did against Mali, South Africa put in a strong display in the opening half but the difference on Sunday was that coach Hugo Broos’ men were more clinical upfront.     

They led 3-0 at the half time break against the Brave Warriors team that had stunned Tunisia in their opening clash of the tournament.     

Tau opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 14 minutes.     

The penalty came after Namibia’s defender Riaan Hanamub was judged to have handled the ball inside the box while attempting to deal with Thapelo Morena’s cross.     

After the VAR consultation, the match referee awarded Bafana their second penalty in as many matches in the tournament.     

Tau showed bravery when he stepped up to take the kick after he missed the one against Mali on Tuesday.     

Veteran player Zwane doubled the lead for Bafana 11 minutes later with a well-taken strike after being set up by Morena.     

The 34-year-old Zwane completed his brace five minutes before half time, beating one defender before finding the back of the net despite a tight angle.     

Namibia continued to enjoy ball possession in the second half, but couldn’t translate that into goals though they created chances.     

After replacing Zwane, youngster Maseko announced his arrival at Afcon with a goal after he connected well with a long pass by Teboho Mokoena with 15 minutes to play.  

Bafana need to be prepared for a major battle against Tunisia, who have a single point after two matches, on Wednesday.