Bafana Bafana threw a 2-0 lead away against Liberia in their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier at Orlando Stadium on Friday evening.
South Africa opened their campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Morocco in Rabat which put the Atlas Lions top of Group K.
The expulsion of Zimbabwe from the competition due to their FIFA ban for government interference in the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) meant only three teams compete for the two places to advance to the continental showpiece in Ivory Coast.
And with the FIFA World Cup semi-finalists beating the Lone Stars already, and Bafana they have already secured their place at the tournament.
Foster proved to be the star of the opening half when he opened the scoring after 11 minutes from the spot, with a Jorginho-esque penalty that settled the nerves of the squad and supporters in attendance.
Bafana grew in confidence and 11 minutes later Teboho Mokoena’s pin-point corner saw Foster rise highest at the near post to meet the ball with a powerful header to make it 2-0.
Hugo Broos’ side looked settled after the early Foster-show and could have put the result beyond any doubt before the break but Bongokuhle Hlongwane lacked composure on two occasions narrowly shooting wide on either side of Tommy Songo’s posts.
The second half proved extremely wasteful as Hlongwane and Percy Tau both spurned chances to put the game to bed, while the Al Ahly star saw a goal ruled out as his free-kick was meant to be an indirect one.
And the visitors took advantage of their complacency as Tonia Tisdell pulled one back with 22 minutes remaining before Broos rung the changes.
Hlongwane and Themba Zwane made way for Monnapule Saleng and Sphephelo Sithole to shore up the midfield, while Lyle Foster, who seemingly lost composure as the game wore on, made way for Cassius Mailula to make his senior national team debut.
Liberia almost equalised in the 89th minute but Williams pushed a shot from inside the box on the upright and many thought he saved Bafana’s victory. However, Liberia did find the equaliser via a stunning striker Mohammed Sangare in the 91st minute.
