Bafana Bafana were held to a 1-1 draw with Ghana in their Africa Cup of Nations Group C clash on Thursday night, leaving both teams needing a result in the final game to qualify for the showpiece event.

Bafana looked to start fast and had a big chance with just four minutes gone as Thapelo Morena was picked out at the back post, but he blasted his strike into the top outside netting.

Sfiso Hlanti then had a chance to go close as he unleashed a first-time strike in the 19th minute which drew a fine save from shotstopper Razak Abalora, who parried his effort over the bar.

Morena was in the thick of the action and took up a similar position to his first effort, but this time he decided to try teeing up Percy Tau but again the effort hit the side netting.

With the scoreline 0-0 at the break, the hosts were certainly the more adventurous of the two teams.

Straight after the break the Black Stars made South Africa pay for their missed chance as Mohammed Kudus caught the Bafana defence cold four minutes into the second stanza, breaking through on goal before poking the ball beyond Ronwen Williams.

Bafana didn’t take long to hit back as their star man Tau found the equaliser two minutes later getting on the end of a through-ball from Gamildien before calmly applying the finish.

Both sides traded half chances from that point on but neither did enough to claim the three points and had to settle for the draw.

The result leaves Ghana sitting top of Group C, while Bafana will just need to avoid defeat by Sudan on Sunday to secure passage to next year’s tournament.