OWN CORRESPONDENT, Accra | Saturday 8.15pm.
BAFANA Bafana finished third in the African Nations Cup on Saturday by beating Tunisia 4-3 on penalties after the teams finished 2-2 in normal time.
Each team converted three of their mandatory five kicks and when Ali Zitouni had his kick parried by Andre Arendse, the door opened for Bafana and Alex Bapela made no mistake.
Shaun Bartlett opened the scoring after 11 minutes, Zitouni levelled from a defensive blunder before half-time, Siyabonga Nomvete put the winners back ahead in the second half and Zitouni snatched a last-minute equaliser.
Bafana coach Trott Moloto made five changes from the team beaten 2-0 by Nigeria in the semi-finals with Mark Fish, who says he is quitting international football because of club-versus-country conflicts, sidelined by an injured toe.
The North Africans were winning more possession in a slow-tempo match and it came as a surprise when they fell behind to an opportunist goal from the elusive Bartlett, a pass intercepted by Shoes Moshoeu.
Tunisia equalised midway through the opening half thanks to a gift goal from Zitouni, who blocked an attempted clearance from Arendse and drove a left-foot shot into an empty net.
Bafana Bafana seemed demoralised by giving away such a soft goal and they suffered a huge blow before half-time when captain Lucas Radebe limped off injured to be replaced by Frank Schoeman.
Ineffective striker Pollen Ndlanya was substituted early in the second half by Nomvete, one of young players to impress during the 22-day championship.
Nomvete made his mark within 10 minutes, pushing the ball past three Tunisians, snapping up the rebound off a fourth, outpacing a fifth and steering the ball over Al-Ouaer into the net for a superb goal.
Pressure was mounting from Tunisia, appearing in their third third-place play-off, and the North Africans had a wonderful opportunity to score when Zied Jaziri was fouled by Issa inside the penalty area, but Khaled Badra saw his spot kick parried by Arendse and lashed clear by Issa.
But just when Tunisia appeared to have been beaten by the clock, luck deserted Arendse, who slipped as he came for a Mhedhebi cross and Zitouni dashed in to head over the goalkeeper and into the net. — AFP