Bafana give their all, but not good enough

Bafana Bafana were held to a goalless draw by Angola in their international friendly at Buffalo City Stadium in East London on Tuesday night.

This was the first time that the national team was playing in East London in 14 years and the supporters packed the 11 700-seater stadium to capacity.

Caretaker coach Owen da Gama handed Luther Singh, Phakamani Mahlambi and Diamond Thopola their debuts against Angola as he made nine changes to the side that did duty in their 3-1 victory over Guinea-Bissau on Saturday in Durban.

Nine of the 11 players in the starting lineup are locally based with captain of the night Andile Jali and Singh being the only overseas-based players who started.

Darren Keet, who this week told Tiso Blackstar Digital that he would even compete at left-back, was given the nod ahead of Itumeleng Khune and Shu-aib Walters in goal.

Captain of the night, Jali, who was supposed to lead by example but his temper got the better of him and was yellow-carded for back-chatting  referee Joshua Bondo.

Angola, who in 12 previous matches have only won once, took the game to Bafana with tricky left-winger Manuel David Afonso in the thick of things. Captain Adriano Belmiro Duarte Nicolau and Herenilson Caifalo do Carmo forced Keet to make saves in the opening half.

The introduction of experienced campaigners Keagan Dolly, Thulani Serero, Ramahle Mphahlele and Themba Zwane in place of Mahlambi, Singh, Thopola and Lebohang Manyama gave Bafana more control of the game.

It was a game of missed opportunities as neither side could find the back of the net.

Angola started the brightest side while Da Gama's charges only really asserted themselves after the break.

Percy Tau was impressive upfront with good runs behind the defenders, but  Bafana just could not find the killer blow and had to settle for a draw much to the frustration of the home crowd who wanted to see the national team win this one.