It was a case of beaten but not disgraced for Bafana Bafana as they went down 1-0 to Scotland in an evenly matched and uninspiring friendly soccer international at the half-filled Pittodrie Stadium in Aberdeen on Wednesday night.
And, to be sure, it was much better than most recent performances by South Africa against teams with any sort of pedigree and professionalism.
But Scotland, in spite of a surprisingly high Fifa ranking of 22nd, are not on this display a team in the top echelon of world soccer, and with any sort of clinical finishing prowess, Bafana might easily have secured a draw — or even a morale-boosting victory for the 64th-ranked South Africans.
Instead, Scotland avenged a 2-0 defeat against South Africa in the only previous full-scale international between the countries via a crunching 70th-minute goal from substitute Chris Boyd, who had been on the pitch for barely three minutes before providing Bafana with an abject lesson in ruthless finishing.
Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira immediately made a triple substitution after this setback, bringing on Terror Fanteni, Teko Modise and Dillon Sheppard for Siyabonga Nkosi, Steven Pienaar and Delron Buckley, who were all systematically running out of steam and ideas.
The changes, however, added little punch to a Bafana line-up that had started the game with only one outright striker in Sibusiso Zuma, who was injured following a cynical 12th-minute tackle and replaced by Sibusiso Zuma after being removed off the pitch on a stretcher.
The loss of Zuma was undoubtedly a cruel blow for Bafana, with Nomvete living up to his reputation of being an effective lethal, late pinch hitter at times, but unable to sustain his verve and potential over a lengthy period of play.
South Africa started in promising fashion and dominated the opening 25 minutes with clinical finishing and deceptive ball skills, but Nomvete, Buckley and Pienaar all fiddled in the manner of Nero as Rome burnt while placed in excellent scoring positions.
Rowen Fernandez in Bafana’s goal was not required to make a single save until stopping an ambitious but largely speculative overhead kick from Kenny Miller in the 57th minute. While not over-worked either, Gordon in the Scotland goal performed with a great deal of aplomb and looked a player of burgeoning class in a faultless performance.
Parreira had said before the game that he regarded the proceedings as a learning curve in Bafana’s build-up for the 2010 World Cup, and in this context the outcome might be regarded as providing some degree of satisfaction.
But a loss is a loss, and what Bafana need more than anything right now are victories against reputable teams that will build on what has become waning confidence — particularly when scoring opportunities beckon. — Sapa