Percy Tau impressed, while Motjeka Madisha endured a torrid evening as Bafana Bafana played to a 1-1 draw in their Nelson Mandela Challenge encounter against Paraguay, writes MARSHALL GOUTS.
Darren Keet: 6/10
Decent game. Endured a tough time in goals as he was constantly being peppered with shots. Parried the ball in the way of Santander for the opener, but was largely let down by his defence throughout the game.
Ramahlwe Mphahlele: 5/10
Brilliant in attack, but woeful in defence. Derlis Gonzalez often got the better of the Kaizer Chiefs man, whose balls into the area still need improvement.
Thulani Hlatshwayo: 5/10
Wasn’t his usual commanding self. Should have marshaled the Bafana defence much better. Strong in tackle, but better organisation needed.
Motjeka Madisha: 3/10
Endured one of his worst-ever performances in the first-half of the clash, which saw him needlessly gift possession away which led to Paraguay’s goal. He repeated those errors twice more and fortunately for him, Bafana weren’t punished for it. Came off for Mkhwanazi in the second-half.
Innocent Maela: 6/10
Had a quiet game by his standards. Wasn’t his influential self in attack, but the clash proved a major learning curve for the Orlando Pirates defender.
Teboho Mokoena: 7/10
Arguably one of the best performers on the pitch for Bafana. Kept it simple and looked good as a result. Also proved effective in attack, supplying both Pule and Tau with defence-splitting passes.
Vincent Pule: 6.5/10
Was one of the rare bright sparks for Bafana. Injected some much needed pace and trickery into the Bafana attack, which seemed lethargic at times. Was unfortunate not to find th back of the net due to some brilliant goalkeeping. Showed his inexperience at times.
Lebogang Mothiba: 6/10
Worked tirelessly and kept the the Paraguayian defence on their toes. The route one tactic seemed to benefit the physically superior South Americans. Came on for Ndlovu in the second-half.
Percy Tau: 7/10
For the second consecutive match, the Brighton loanee was Bafana’s best player causing the visitors defence all sorts of headaches with his pace and off-the-ball movement. Needs to sharpen his scoring boots though.
Substitutes:
Ronwen Williams: 6/10
Didn’t have too much to do after coming on in the second-half. Displayed his excellent awareness and great ball distribution.
Thamsanqa Mkhize: 6/10
Kept it simple and solidified the Bafana defence.
Buhle Mkhwanazi: 6/10
Came on to good effect with Madisha proving out of sorts. Never one to shy away from a tackle, the Bidvest Wits defender added stability to the back four.
Fortune Makaringe: 5/10
Looked neat when in possession of the ball. The clash proved a major learning curve for him
Thulani Serero: 7/10
Was sent on by Baxter to do a job and did exactly that as he grabbed the bull by it’s horns and took the opposition on. It proved fitting that he supplied the ball for Tau to net the equaliser with the last kick of the game.
Dino Ndlovu: 6/10
Looked a tad short of match fitness, but used his physicality well in order to win South Africa a number of set-pieces.
Photo: Gallo Images