Bafana Bafana player ratings vs Niger
Bafana Bafana player ratings
Posted: 2010-09-05 09:59
KICK OFF rates South Africa’s players after their 2-0 win over Niger in Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations 2012 qualifier at the Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga.
PLAYER RATINGS: (Out of 10 marks)
6 Itumeleng Khune – ‘Itu’s ball distribution was excellent and few would disagree that the 23-year-old is definitely one of the best in this area. Surprisingly, he says he is not ready to be a captain at any level, saying he is too ‘jokeful’ to be taken seriously. However, he showed some leadership qualities when Anele Ngcongca allowed Niger space early in the second half and Khune immediately called him over to sternly warn him. Needless to say, Ngcongca never repeated the mistake.
6 Anele Ngcongca – Ngcongca makes a great cross in the 25th minute, but Tshabalala misses near the upright with the goalie to beat, but Parker takes advantage of another of Ngcongca’s crosses on the stroke of halftime to put Bafana 2-0 ahead. A couple of minutes later Ngcongca again crossed after a great run, capping off a great first half of constant attacking down the right, but this time Parker was late to the ball. The Belgium-based defender was quite in the second half though.
6 Tsepo Masilela – Delivered a cross as early as 40 seconds and though it does little to threaten Niger, Masilela put the opponents on the back foot from the first whistle, which set the tone for the match.
6 Bongani Khumalo – He was winning the aerial balls in the first 20 minutes when Bafana had a corner, but failed to direct either attempt to goal. Solid in defence.
6 Aaron Mokoena – His ball distribution still leaves a lot to be desired, frustrating Mphela with what could have been an easy pick-up in the first half, something all too familiar with our skipper. However, Mokoena was better defensively, rescuing Bafana with a good clearance to concede a corner in the second half. Well played, Mbazo.
6 MacBeth Sibaya – He was playing backwards in the first half which was dangerous play, but in the second half he picked up his game.
5 Thanduyise Khuboni – It was no surprise when he was taken off in the second half for Reneilwe Letsholonyane. He was good on the ball but didn’t move forward enough, especially seeing Bafana were dominant and there was space to take advantage of in midfield.
*8 Steven Pienaar – Schillo’s defence splitting pass finds Mphela with acres of space, making the task easier for ‘Killer’ to chip in Bafana’s opening goal. In the 34th minute the Everton midfielder makes a great run on the left, some nice dribbling too and puts in a cross for Parker, but unfortunately the latter was tightly marked. In the 54th minute Pienaar held off two Niger midfielders, picked Parker with yet another defence splitting pass, but the FC Twente forward couldn’t capitalize, shooting straight at the keeper. Pienaar simply outplayed the Niger midfielders on the night.
6 Siphiwe Tshabalala – Full of running early on, but most of his shots were disappointing, like the one in the 58th when Shaba found himself alone in the box, controlled the pass well, but his chip over the keeper went over the bar. Shaba knows he could have done better there.
7 Katlego Mphela – Excellent finish chipping over the keeper in the 12th minute for Bafana’s opening goal. Mphela’s pace was too much for Niger, but his finishing needs to improve and he should be punishing woeful defences like that of Niger a lot more and with ease.
7 Bernard Parker – Parker is left-footed, but his right-footed finish on the stroke of halftime had quality written all over it. Like Mphela, his finishing must improve.
5 Reneilwe Letsholonyane – Replaces Khuboni in the 66th minute and he is able to move forward a bit more, creating a cross which Pienaar missed with a header.
Kermit Erasmus – the young striker comes on for Mphela for his debut, but hardly makes any impact in the 12 minutes he played and not long enough in the field for a rating.
Teko Modise – not long enough in the field for a rating. Modise had replaced his new competition for a place in the team, Pienaar.
: 2010-09-05 10:25
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