Forgotten striker scores wonder goal a day after Bafana snub

Despite being snubbed for Bafana Bafana selection, striker Bongokuhle Hlongwane continued his impressive form with a crucial goal for Minnesota United in the MLS on Thursday morning (SA time).

The 23-year-old opened the scoring for Minnesota with a right-footed shot from outside the box from a corner kick, just 30 minutes into the match.

The strike required the intervention of VAR as there were fears the ball might not have crossed the line after hitting the crossbar, but it was eventually given. 

The visitors' Dejan Joveljic and Diego Fagundez' each scored to put Galaxy ahead in the second half.

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Kevin Arriaga restored parity with 10 minutes to play and salvaged an important point for Minnesota.

The draw sees The Loons keep their spot in second position on the MLS table in the Western Conference, still four points behind log leaders Real Salt Lake and level on points with third-placed Los Angeles, fourth-placed Colorado and fifth-placed LA Galaxy.

For Hlongwane, the goal was the third for the season from three starts.

Although the former Maritzburg man endured a frustrating start to the season and is yet to complete a single 90 minutes of a match from nine appearances, when given the chance he has shown glimpses of the form that made him one of the side's most important players last season.

In the 2023/24 campaign, Hlongwane contributed 17 goals and five assists from his 38 appearances.

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The goal would have also not gone unnoticed by Bafana head coach Hugo Broos, who opted against selecting Hlongwane in his preliminary 36-man squad for important upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Nigeria and Zimbabwe, respectively, to be played in June.

The speedster was also not a part of the final 23-man squad that returned with a bronze medal at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in January.

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