Bafana Bafana break Guinea's unbeaten record with 2-1 CHAN victory

South Africa's Bafana Bafana came good with a 2-1 win over Guinea in their CHAN Group C clash at the Nelson Mandela National Stadium in Kampala, Uganda, on Monday.

After their hard-fought 1-1 draw against group favourites Algeria on Friday, Bafana managed a win in their second group clash by scoring a goal in each half.

Bafana Bafana aimed to end Guinea's unbeaten record against South Africa, which had lasted through five matches since their first encounter in March 2001. The Elephants, as Guinea are nicknamed, have a record of two wins and three draws and had yet to concede a goal against South African opposition.

The scoring jinx was finally broken, 24-years later, by captain Neo Maema with a ninth-minute goal after an innocuous upfield kick from deep inside the Bafana Bafana defence. Unmarked teammate Thabiso Kutumela latched on to the ball before feeding striker partner Maema, who let rip with a grasscutter from outside the penalty area, past an unsighted Guinea goalie Moussa Camara (1-0).

Earlier, Bafana Bafana grabbed the initiative after they bossed the midfield. However, their feeds to the frontrunners were not effective, mainly because the forwards were not making runs into optimal positions.

On other occasions, there was poor decision-making by midfielders.

Strangely, the goal did not inject new life into Bafana.

stead, Guinea stepped up their efforts and looked dangerous on the counter-attack. One of these transitions, just ahead of the half-time break, caught the South African defence napping when Moussa Camara scored after a fine feed from Mohamed Yôrôbô (1-1).

After their opening score, Bafana Bafana never managed another shot on goal in the remaining first-half play.

Their next shot on goal emerged nine minutes into the second half after a fine attacking sortie by Bafana Bafana's midfield, who found right-back Wayde Jooste overlapping wide on the right channel. Jooste's goalmouth cross was smartly met by Kutumela, who hammered the ball into the Guinea net (2-1).

Since most of the South African players are not presently attached to clubs, they were running out of steam towards the end of the match. This was the cue for coach Molefi Ntseki to bring on fresh legs, with Tebogo Tlolane, Matlhari Makaringe and Kaketso Majadibodu joining the fray.

Despite Guinea's relentless pressure in the dying stages, Bafana Bafana desperately held out for victory.