By Michael Madyira
Thalente Mbatha was back to save the day for Bafana Bafana again in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers with a stoppage-time winner in the 3-2 victory over South Sudan at Juba Stadium on Tuesday.
South Sudan had taken the lead through a penalty converted by Okello Tito Odong 15 minutes into the match before Oswin Appollis restored parity two minutes later.
The Polokwane City wideman returned to seal a double on the stroke of halftime but the home side hit back via Valentino Yuel on 57 minutes.
As the contest appeared headed for a draw, Mbatha rose from the bench to rescue Bafana with a last-gasp strike, just like he did in the 2-2 draw against Uganda last Friday.
It was the first set of maximum points collected by South Africa in Group K and they remain second on the table while Uganda lead after beating Congo Brazzaville 2-0 at home on Monday.
South Sudan remain winless and anchor the standings after also losing 1-0 in their opening match against Congo last Thursday.
Hugo Broos and his men arrived in South Sudan concerned about the Juba artificial turf and the Belgian made two changes to the team which started against Uganda.
He replaced goalkeeper Veli Mothwa with debutant Sipho Chaine and threw in Thapelo Morena for Elias Mokwana.
But the hosts got an opportunity to take the lead when Siyabonga Ngezana brought down Odong inside the box and the Indonesia-based striker took the responsibility to beat Chaine from the penalty spot.
However, Appollis immediately silenced the home crowd after being at the end of an Aubrey Modiba cross to fire home from an acute angle.
A hard-to-believe moment then came for Khuliso Mudau when his effort was blocked by the hosts’ defender Paul Pal before his follow-up shot crashed against the crossbar.
But Appollis beat the halftime whistle by pouncing on a loose ball after Lyle Foster had been denied by the upright post.
Bafana were, however, stunned when Yuel poked the ball past Chaine from a scuffle amid the visitors’ defenders struggling to clear danger.
As Bafana pressed to reclaim the lead, they were frustrated by the hosts’ spirited defending.
Mbatha then became the saviour again by firing home from the d-arch to hand South Africa maximum points on the road.
Pictured above: Oswin Appollis and Bafana players celebrate.
Source: Bafana Bafana
