Burnley striker Lyle Foster scored on 79 minutes as South Africa edged Angola 2-1 in Marrakesh on Monday to win their opening match of an Africa Cup of Nations marketing campaign for the primary time in 21 years.
Since beating Benin within the 2004 event, Bafana Bafana have drawn twice and misplaced 4 instances after they debuted in numerous editions of the premier African soccer event.
The opening Group B match had three distinct phases. South Africa began impressively and Oswin Appollis scored on 21 minutes earlier than a small crowd within the near-42,000-seat stadium.
Angola managed the remainder of the opening half and Present levelled. South Africa then recovered to be the stronger aspect within the second half and Foster struck to safe most factors.
Egypt, captained by Mohamed Salah, meet Zimbabwe later in southern coastal metropolis Agadir in the identical part.
South Africa attacked regularly within the early levels, however their goalkeeper Ronwen Williams needed to react shortly on quarter-hour to push away a shot from fellow captain Fredy Ribeiro.
Appollis gave Bafana Bafana the lead six minutes later, successful possession off a Khuliso Mudau cross and beating 39-year-old goalkeeper Hugo Marques with a low shot into the nook.
Williams got here to the rescue once more because the match reached the half-hour mark, making a superb point-blank save from a Gelson Dala header.
Angola had been getting on prime and it got here as no shock when Present — one in all many Angolan footballers who use a nickname — equalised after 35 minutes.
– Tempers flare –
Siyabonga Ngezana was fortunate to flee being yellow-carded after fouling Dala, however the indiscipline was to show pricey on a chilly night in central Morocco.
The resultant free-kick was pushed low into the South African goalmouth and Present related with the ball to steer it into the nook.
Tempers flared because the half progressed and the Sudanese referee cautioned To Carneiro of Angola, then South Africans Aubrey Modiba and Sphephelo Sithole.
Because the groups exited the pitch at half-time, Frenchman Patrice Beaumelle would have been the happier coach with Angola unfortunate to not be forward.
South Africa thought they’d regained the lead six minutes into the second half when substitute Tshepang Moremi, on for the ineffective Mohau Nkota, fired a low shot huge of Marques and into the web.
However Bafana celebrations had been reduce quick when a VAR evaluate confirmed that Foster — the only real South African from the highest 5 European leagues within the squad — was marginally offside.
South Africa had been urgent for a second purpose and centre-back Mbekezeli Mbokazi quickly deserted his defensive duties to beat Marques with a long-range drive solely to see it rebound off the crossbar.
On the again foot for a lot of the opening half, South Africa had been now the aggressors, continually pushing ahead in the hunt for the lead.
A swift Bafana counterattack noticed Moremi outpace a defender, then push the ball again into the trail of Foster, who squandered a superb likelihood by firing over.
However Foster atoned with 11 minutes of standard time left via a shot from the sting of the field that gave Marques no likelihood, and put South Africa again in entrance.
An intercept of an Angolan go and two slick passes arrange the striker to assert his fourth purpose in six matches.
The publish AFCON ’25: Foster grabs South Africa winner against Angola appeared first on Vanguard News.
