ETHAN Brooks of South Africa during the 2024 Hollywoodbets Cosafa Men’s Championship match. | BackpagePix
South Africa (0) 0
Botswana (0) 0
SOUTH Africa’s Bafana Bafana will know their 2024 Cosafa Cup fate in the final round of Group A matches on Tuesday when they face Eswatini after sharing the spoils yet again in their second group game against Bostwana’s Zebras at the Wolfson Stadium outside Port Elizabeth yesterday afternoon.
That result completed a weird set of results since all the matches in the group have ended in stalemates, and consequently all four teams have two points after two rounds.
Earlier on the day Mozambique’s Mambas played to a 0-0 draw with Eswatini in the same venue.
In the first round games Eswatini and Botswana drew 0-0, and so did Bafana and Mozambique.
Bafana will be hoping for their first victory in the 2024 tournament on Tuesday when they play Eswatini at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Yesterday Bafana, with coach Helman Mkhalele at the helm, did enough to win the game but failed to convert numerous scoring chances.
Botswana coach Didier Da Rosa said the South Africans gave his side lots of problems, particularly in the first half, and he was pleased to secure a draw.
Botswana had an excellent passage of play just past the hour mark and twice the South African defence came close to conceding.
Da Rosa said his team knew they would be seeing very little of the ball but they planned to counter-attack whenever transition play beckoned.
Striker Molaodi Tlhalefang had a gilt-edged chance to score in the first half after he outjumped the SA defence but his header was fractionally wide of the upright.
After the match Mkhalele said the side’s performance was “sloppy” and they did not pose a threat when they broke into the final third.
“We didn’t make the runs that we should have made when we set off on attacks and we could find each other,” said Mkhalele.
After failing to bag a win two rounds into the event, Mkhalele’s side will be eager to pick themselves up on Tuesday in their final Group A tie against their closest neighbours.
The three group winners and the best runner-up team will progress to the semi-final round.
The other Group A match on Tuesday will be between Botswana and Mozambique at the Wolfson Stadium.
Both matches will begin at 3pm.
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