Durban — Bafana Bafana were left disappointed after wasting glorious chances in front of goal as they drew 0-0 with Guinea Bissau at the Guldensporen Stadion in Kortrijk, Belgium on Friday night.
Bafana played their first game on European soil in 10 years as Coach Hugo Broos put out a seemingly second string side, the biggest surprise being the centre back partnership of inexperienced Nkosinathi Sibisi and club-less Siyanda Xulu.
Guinea, who's last game was a shocking round of 16 defeat to Gambia at AFCON 2021 were without their talisman Naby Keita, who missed out through injury but could rely on exploits of young Valencia midfielder, Ilaix Moriba.
Coach Broos would've been pleased with his side's application of his tactics as Bafana rattled their opponents for the opening 30 minutes who were hell-bent on building up from the back.
Bafana forced numerous mistakes in the Guinea defence and midfield, giving them a number of chances, the best of them going to striker Lyle Forster in the 15th minute.
Forster, who plays in the Belgian second division, ran onto a loose ball behind the Guinea defence, after composing himself, he fired at the feet of the goalkeeper.
Keagan Dolly and Thabanga Monate were also guilty of missing chances in the opening period as Bafana continued to pile on the pressure and aggression and benefit from the Guinea mistakes.
Khuliso Mudau, who was making his debut looked like a seasoned international, calmly dealing with any danger coming his way while being a thorn in the side of Guinea with his marauding runs down line and cutthroat execution while on the offensive the entire first half.
Broos cut a frust figure after 60 minutes of play as his side continued to be wasteful infront of goal, Bandile Shandu, the most guilty in the 58th minute.
Shandu, who was also turning out for the national team for the first time, was delightfully played through on goal by Forster but he dragged his shot wide in search of the bottom corner with just the keeper to beat.
The Guinean Elephants controlled much of the second half possession and dictated the tempo of the game but could not manufacturer any clear cut chances or put any pressure the South African defence.
A worrying factor for Bafana and Broos though must have the need to replace both Monare and Terrence Mashego because of potentially serious injuries and were replaced by Tebogo Mokoena and Lyle Lakay respectively.
Bafana will have to quickly forget the misfortunes of this encounter as a mountainous clash against world champions, France awaits on Tuesday.
IOL Sport