Kaizer Chiefs product hands Mosimane third straight win as Bafana sink Egypt

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Kaizer Chiefs product hands Mosimane third straight win as Bafana sink Egypt
Bafana players Shandre Campbell, Puso Dithejane and Cassius Mailula celebrate their goal against Egypt.

Puso Dithejane scored the only goal as Bafana Bafana beat Egypt 1-0 in a friendly match played in Cairo on Sunday.

The former Kaizer Chiefs youth star broke the deadlock in the 50th minute when he latched onto a through ball from Shandre Campbell to score past Egypt goalkeeper Oufa Shobeir.

It was a game where chances were few and far between but both sides had opportunities to score in the first half.

Puso Dithejane celebrates his goal for Bafana
Puso Dithejane celebrates his goal for Bafana

The first one fell to Egypt after eight minutes through striker Omar Marmush, who received a good ball in the box, but could not find the target after Lebone Seema disoriented him.

Four minutes later, Mohamed Hany fired over the bar from the edge of the box before South Africa wasted a glorious opportunity.

Wasted opportunities from both sides

With President Cyril Ramaphosa in the stands, Tashreeq Matthews and Thabang Matuludi combined with the forward teeing up the right-back but he brought in a low cross which did not find a target.

Emam Ashour had Egypt’s first shot on target after 28 minutes when he found a way past a forest of Bafana Bafana legs but Sipho Chaine kept it out.

Matuludi then latched onto a loose ball just outside the box but fired a thunderous strike over the bar as the first half ended goalless.

After the break, Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane made three changes with Campbell coming in for Luther Singh, Khulumani Ndamane replacing Ime Okon as Tshepang Moremi took the place of Matthews.

Ex-Chiefs star scores for Bafana

It took five minutes for the chances to bear fruit as Campbell threaded a great ball from deep which found Dithejane upfront and the Chicago Fire striker beat the Egypt goalkeeper before slotting home.

The goal woke up Egypt who poured men forward in search for the equaliser with Barcelona forward Hamza Abdelkarim coming close through a well-taken header that drew a flying save from substitute goalkeeper Ricardo Goss.

Omar marmush of Egypt playing against Lebone Seema of Bafana.
Omar marmush of Egypt playing against Lebone Seema of Bafana.

The Pharaohs continued to attack but could not breach the resolute South Africa defence which held firm to secure a morale-boosting win with Goss pulling off a fine save in stoppage time as well as from a brilliant freekick to preserve he lead.

Victory follows a 2-1 win over Guinea and the 5-0 thrashing of Eritrea in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, giving Mosimane a perfect start to his Bafana reign.

Mosimane’s men will now wait until November when they will face Benni McCarthy’s Kenya in back-to-back AFCON 2027 qualifiers.

<!-- Author Start -->Joel Oliver<!-- Author End -->

Joel Oliver

Author

Joel Oliver is a sports journalist covering South Africa, with 16 years in sports media and a Bachelor's Degree in Communication. Focused on football analysis and responsible gambling, his work has appeared on GOAL and Pulse Sports Kenya, and he is a regular football analyst on TV and radio.

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