Thalente Mbatha of South Africa celebrates a goal with teammate Relebohile Mofokeng. Picture: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
Doctor Khumalo was full of praise for Thalente Mbatha and Relebohile Mofokeng who both came off the bench to help Bafana Bafana secure a crucial win over South Sudan.
The Orlando Pirates duo gave South Africa the edge when they came on in the second half with a game tied at 2-2.
Mbatha scored the winner in referee’s optional time to earn Bafana a 3-2 victory over South Sudan in an Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier at Jumba Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.
READ MORE: Last-gasp Mbatha strikes again as Bafana seal dramatic Afcon win
Mofokeng caused some problems for the hosts when he came on late in the second half.
“This game was a difficult game, I thought we were just going to sail and that’s it,” said Khumalo, during his match analysis on SABC Sport.
“What made us better is the composure and the belief in our abilities. We were playing to our strengths and not to the opponents’ strengths. And we have players we can introduce like Mokwana and Mofokeng, that changed the complexion of the game.
“That’s how the game is supposed to be, the bench is supposed to win games for you,” added the Bafana legend.
“I also thought [the introduction] of Mofokeng on the left-hand side, paid dividends because Mofokeng is like an outright winger.
“But again credit to Mbatha because it seems like he’s our match winner.
“It raises the question – do we now have to rely on Orlando Pirates players because they played more competitive games,” concluded Khumalo.
Meanwhile, Bafana coach Hugo Broos was not happy with his team’s performance against South Sudan, saying his team could have wrapped up the game in the first half.
ALSO READ: Bafana’s Broos – ‘The Lord was with us’
“I thank the good Lord upstairs, He was with us in this game, and also against Uganda (in the 2-2 draw last Friday). But we played better against Uganda, today we didn’t play our best game. We should have done better. If we had done better, I think the score should not be 3-2, but maybe 5-2 or something for South Africa,” Broos told Safa media.
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