For the first time in 21 years, South Africa defeated Angola 2-1 in Marrakech on Monday in the opening game of the Africa Cup of Nations campaign thanks to Burnley striker Lyle Foster’s 79th minute winner.
When they first appeared in various editions of the biggest African football competition since beating Benin in 2004, Bafana Bafana have drawn twice and lost four times.
Three distinct phases were present in the Group B opener. Oswin Appollis scored in the near-42, 000-seat stadium with a 21-minute opener in front of a sizable crowd in South Africa.
The rest of the opening half was controlled by Show, who leveled. In the second half, South Africa quickly regained control and scored the winning goal.
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In the opening moments, South Africa frequently attacked, but Ronwen Williams’ goalkeeper had to react quickly on 15 minutes to stop Fredy Ribeiro’s cross.
Six minutes later, Appollis won possession of Bafana Bafana and Hugo Marques, a 39-year-old goalkeeper, with a low shot into the corner.
As the game neared the half-hour mark, Williams made a brilliant point-blank save from a Gelson Dala header.
It was a surprise when Show, one of many Angolan footballers who use a nickname, equalized after 35 minutes as Angola were on the rise.
Tempers Flare  
Siyabonga Ngezana’s fouling of Dala was so fortunate that Siyabonga Ngezana was spared yellow cards, but the indolence turned disastrous on a chilly evening in central Morocco.
Show connected with the ball to steer it into the corner after the resultant free kick was slashed low into the South African goalmouth.
As the half-hour approached, there were rumors of a famine, and the Sudanese referee issued a caution to To Carneiro of Angola, South Africans Aubrey Modiba, and Sphephelo Sithole.
Patrice Beaumelle, a Frenchman who had led the teams out of the pitch at half-time, would have been the happier coach because Angola was unfortunate not to be ahead.
Six minutes into the second half, South Africa thought they had taken the lead after Mohau Nkota’s substitute Mohau Moremi fired a low shot past Marques and into the net.
However, a VAR review revealed that Foster, the only South African player from the top five of the squad in Europe, had a slight offside.
When South Africa was pressed for a second goal, center-back Mbekezeli Mbokazi abruptly gave up his defensive duties to beat Marques with a long-range drive that did not rebound off the crossbar.
South Africa continued to lead the charge for the majority of the opening half, moving ahead in search of the lead.
Moremi outpaced a defender in a quick Bafana counterattack, and Foster wasted a good chance by firing over the ball before squandering the ball in his path.
But Foster made amends with a shot from the edge of the box that Marques had no chance to receive with 11 minutes remaining to restore South Africa’s lead.
The striker scored his fourth goal in six games after intercepting an Angolan pass and two skillful passes.
Source: Channels TV
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