Human’s second-half strike earns Bafana a Cosafa draw against Namibia

A decent performance from the bench saved Bafana Bafana from the embarrassment of losing their Cosafa Cup opening clash to Namibia at home.

Bafana came from a goal down to draw 1-1 against the Brave Warriors at King Zwelithini Stadium in Durban on Wednesday evening.

South Africa-based Elmo Kambindu scored the opener for the Namibians before second-half substitute Human found the equaliser.

Human has been deadly in front of goal recently as he scored four times during the Premier Soccer League (PSL) promotion-relegation playoffs, though that was not enough to save his Maritzburg United from the axe.

Bafana’s build-up to the tournament wasn’t without chaos as official national team assistant coach Helman Mkhalele, who led the side last year, was banned from carrying out the same duties due to lack of coaching qualification.

But SA Football Association (Safa) and chaos have been synonymous recently.

Bafana’s permanent head coach Hugo Broos doesn’t coach the side in the regional tournament as per his agreement with Safa.

Mkhalele’s lack of qualification forced Safa to appoint Morena Ramoreboli as an interim coach and Raymond Mdaka as his assistant. Ramoreboli has filled the role before, winning the Cosafa Cup in Gqeberha in 2021.

Another stumbling block was that out of the 47 players that Ramoreboli called up to his preliminary squad, only 19 pitched for camp as many clubs refused to release players as the tournament doesn't fall in a Fifa date.

The makeshift technical team was still able to put together a solid final 23-man squad with players from the PSL and others with the experience of playing abroad.

Bafana's starting line-up had Jethren Barr in goal, Lesedi Kapinga, Victor Letsoalo, Lyle Lakay, Thembela Sikhakhane, Keegan Allan, Tebogo Tlolane and Thabo Cele, who plays for Radomiak Radom of Poland.

South Africa’s performance was not the worst, but winning against Namibia should not be a mission based on the quality of the team they had.

Their performance upfront will need to improve if they are to win this tournament.

Despite having a solid team on paper and dominating for most of the opening half, it was the Namibians who scored first in the 43rd minute.

South Africa had numerous goal opportunities but players such as Keegan Allan and Lakay missed.

After being under pressure for most of the half, Namibia scored through Chippa United forward Kambindu. The 30-year-old was left unmarked in the box and headed in a cross by Bethuel Mezeu as Namibia enjoyed a slender lead at interval.

In a bid to remedy the situation and avert an embarrassment, Ramoreboli made four changes before the start of the second half.

He brought in Maritzburg's Rowan Human, Iqraam Rayners, Sibongiseni Mthethwa and Tshegofatsho Mabasa for Shadrack Kobedi, Allan, Tlolane and Letsoala.

The changes were effective as Human found the equaliser with a beautiful strike in the 48th minute.

However, South Africa could not find the winning goal and they will have to work hard in their final two games against group A opponents Botswana and Eswatini.

In Wednesday's earlier group A match that kicked off this year's tournament, Botswana claimed a 1-0 victory over Eswatini at the same venue. Lebogang Ditsele scored the only goal in the 22nd minute.

Botswana meet Bafana in Umlazi on Saturday (3pm) while Namibia face Eswatini three hours later.