A solitary Teboho Mokoena goal was enough to earn Bafana Bafana another international friendly win.
Bafana followed up Saturday’s impressive 4-0 win over Sierra Leone with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Botswana at the FNB Stadium.
As anticipated by Bafana coach Hugo Broos, it was a closely contested tie with neighbours Zebras.
The hosts only broke the deadlock in the 38th minute with a well-taken freekick by the Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder.
Thato Kebue fouled Khanyisa Mayo, as he charged for goal, and the referee awarded a freekick just outside the box.
Mokoena made no mistake, firing Bafana ahead.
The half-time whistle blew with the scoreline favouring the home side, who had a 1-0 advantage lead.
The second half started in a similar pattern, with the home side threatening more.
As the showdown progressed, the intensity and pace had dropped drastically from the hosts and their chances were getting further away from the target.
South Africa continued not to make their home ground advantage count in the second stanza as the Zebras showed resilience with the aim to score an equaliser that would have strengthened their confidence against Broos’ charges.
In the end, it was the Belgian mentor’s side who walked away with smiles as they have made it two out of two wins in this FIFA Calendar break.
These victories will be a motivation to Bafana players in preparations for their AFCON qualifiers clashes.
WHAT BROOS SAID PRIOR TO THE GAME…
“The game will be more difficult than the one on Saturday. We analysed the opponent, and it was our conclusion,” he told the media.
“I think it’s logical that it’s Botswana. Botswana and South Africa are always something special.
“Again, what I saw from Botswana in their games is better than Sierra Leone… so it will be tougher for us.”
