Phakaaathi.co.za Manyama only bright spot
It turned out to be a disastrous Friday evening for Bafana Bafana as they lost 2-0 to Senegal at the Peter Mokaba Stadium, meaning the Teranga Lions qualified for Russia 2018 while South Africa are once again not going to the World Cup finals. Bafana did
Itumeleng Khune: 5/10
Playing with an injury, Khune looked to be panicking at times and not making the right decisions. However, his defenders let him down for both goals. Clayton Daniels: 4/10
For an experienced campaigner, Daniels failed to read the game and was slow in his movements which gave the fast-paced Senegalese attackers more room to manoeuvre. Morgan Gould: 5/10
Gould tried to take command of the defence but also could not cope with the speed of the Senegal attacks. He didn’t help as expected during attacking set-pieces as he seemed more worried about getting back to his defensive duties. Thamsanqa Mkhize: 5/10
Mkhize had a bad start with Mbaye Niang taking him to the cleaners in the early stages of the match, but he held his own as time went on. He was unlucky to score an own goal, the ball hitting him after Khune had made the initial save. Sifiso Hlanti: 4/10
Hlanti was almost always caught out of position as Senegal’s breaks found him out of his assigned position. His crossing was also not what we have come to expect. Dean Furman: 6/10
One thing you can never fault Furman for is his big heart. He again played his heart out but was sometimes found wanting as the tall Senegalese midfielders used their height and strength to their advantage. Kamohelo Mokotjo: 6/10
Mokotjo showed he could be an influential player on his day but with Senegal relying on fast counter-attacks, he was found tracking back a little too late at times. Lebogang Manyama: 7/10
Manyama was the top performer on a dismal night for Bafana. He was unlucky to see his curling shot hit the bar with the keeper beaten in the first half and had a freekick saved again later on. Themba Zwane: 6/10
Zwane made some lively runs and his combination with Sibusiso Vilakazi, Percy Tau and Manyama looked to trouble Senegal, but none of them wanted to take responsibility sometimes. He was replaced in the second half. Sibusiso Vilakazi: 6/10
Vilakazi could have scored early in the second half and gave Bafana some reprieve but he could not take the chance. He had a generally good game though. Percy Tau: 5/10
Tau played the wrong game, trying to take on the tall Senegalese defenders all by himself and he ended up gifting them the ball on too many occasions. Substitutions: Andile Jali: 5/10
With his first touch after coming on for Manyama, Jali looked to change things and his forward pass created a chance, but that was all he brought to the match. Siphiwe Tshabalala: 4/10
Tshabalala came on for Zwane with 20 minutes remaining but could not change the direction of the match. His long balls up front were easily dealt with by the Senegal defenders. Bradley Grobler
Came on for the last seven minutes for Vilakazi. Not on long enough to be rated.