Substitute Bradley Grobler ensured South Africa kept their unbeaten record alive against minnows Mozambique on Tuesday, writes WADE PRETORIUS.
Much was written about in the build up of the match being played at the 40 000-capacity Estadio Nacional do Zimpeto Stadium but in the end, only a few thousand people turned up to witness the 1-1 draw between the neighbouring countries.
Thuso Phala was denied giving the visitors the dream start when his effort was tipped wide with only a minute on the clock.
Debutant Lars Veldwijk had the game’s best chance after Ramahlwe Mphahlele’s delightful cross found the lanky striker in the box but he squandered his effort by heading wide.
Mozambique took the lead after Ronwen Williams failed to deal with a throughball. The SuperSport United goalkeeper rushed out to deal with the ball but did not get a boot onto the ball with Elias Pelembe providing the pressure. Pelembe took advantage of the howler but his effort his the bar before Clesio tapped home.
The hosts then took control of proceedings with Tiyani Mabunda, Hlompho Kekana and May Mahlangu falling to control possession. The midfield’s lack of authority meant that Veldwijk and Phala were left with little to no service beyond chasing the odd long ball while Daine Klate was forced into doing his fair share of defending and had little impact in the attacking third.
Interim coach Owen da Gama hauled Veldwijk off at the break as he sought to add impetus to the match and found that in SuperSport’s in-form forward Bradley Grobler.
Grobler made his presence felt with his high workrate and willingness to make runs both in aid of attack or defence. Grobler’s intelligence paid off when he found himself played clear on goal after Mphahlele controlled Clayton Daniels’diagonal ball.
With just 33 minutes on left on the clock, Klate failed to get his free kick off the ground. His miss was matched by Pelembe hit the bar when scoring was easier, Daniels had the final chance of the match in the dying minutes but the woodwork denied the experienced defender the winner.
The draw helped ensure South Africa extend their unbeaten run over Mozambique to six matches.
