South Africa ……. 3 (Erasmus 36) (Tau 70) (Jali 90)
 
Guinea-Bissau …… 1 (Balde 70)
25 March 2017 – Kermit Erasmus, Percy Tau and Andile Jali were on target for Bafana Bafana as the home side beat Guinea-Bissau 3-1 in an international friendly played at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Playing in drizzling conditions, the home team were too powerful for Guinea-Bissau. So dominant were Bafana Bafana that they spent most of the afternoon camped in the visitors’ half. With good finishing, however, the scoreline could have been much higher. Nether-the-less interim coach Owen da Gama will be pleased with the team’s showing going into Tuesday’s friendly with Angola.

It was an all-round performance which kept the buoyant Durban crowd on their toes for the entire 90 minutes.

The match started at a furious pace, and Guinea-Bissau fashioned the real opportunity in the sixth minute when Silva Sa broke free but hesitated to shoot and the Bafana Bafana defence cleared the danger.

Keagan Dolly then took a free kick on the edge of the box but his swerving shot was well saved by Guinea-Bissau keeper Papa Mabaye, before Tebogo Langerman’s cross found no takers.

With a congested midfield, the match got bogged down in the middle of the pitch with few scoring chances being created.

Kermit Erasmus was then put through by Dolly but was robbed of the ball when he was about to pull the trigger in the 29th minute.

Moments later, Themba Zwane saw his deflected shot almost eluding Mabaye but Guinea Bissau somehow survived again.

Serero was then brought down in the 35th minute inside the box and Kermit Erasmus made no mistake from the spot to give Bafana Bafana a deserved 1-0 lead.

It could have been 2-0 in the 38th minute but the Bafana strikers took turns to work the ball inside the box and Guinea-Bissau cleared.

Serero then back-heeled when he had only the goalkeeper to beat as the visitors continued to live on borrowed life.

Serero went close again in the 55th minute when he met a cross from Langerman, but Mabaye was alert to the danger.

Zwane was then pulled out in the 57th minute for Andile Jali who started on the bench, before Lebogang Manyama and Percy Tau came in for Erasmus and Kamohelo Mokotjo.

Tau made his presence felt moments later when he buried a great goal in the 70th minute. He was put through by Dolly in a quick counter-attack, saw the keeper off his line and powered an angled shot into the back of the net to announce his arrival on big stage.

Guinea-Bissau then pulled one back on the 78th-minute mark as the Bafana Bafana defence went to sleep.

Serero could have atoned for his misses in the 80th minute, but his shot went narrowly wide of the diving Mabaye as the home team fought to reinstall their two goal advantage.

Tau could have completed an audacious move but his back heel lacked enough power as the match swung from one end to the other.

South Africa got the second penalty when Hlompho Kekana was brought down in the box. Jali stepped up and to convert the spot-kick to clinch the third goal.