11 July 2023 – Second-half substitute Tshegofatso Mabasa netted a brace to help Bafana Bafana come from a goal down to beat Eswatini 2-1 in a fiercely-contested Cosafa Cup clash at the Princess Magogo Stadium, in KwaMashu in Durban, on Tuesday night (11 July 2023).
The victory saw coach Morena Ramoreboli Bafana Bafana COSAFA squad finish top of Group A with seven points and reach the semifinals of the regional competition. Defender Keegan Allan returned to the starting lineup after he missing out in the win against Botswana at the weekend due to a groin injury, and the change had the desired.
The two sides went to the half-time break still locked at 0-0 with very little action in front of goals. The second half saw neither side making any changes but it was Eswatini who struck first following a series of defensive errors that allowed Bongwa Matsebula to put the visitors in the lead in the 55th minute.
Ramoreboli made three quick changes, taking the match to Eswatini as the home side went in search of the equalizer. Thabo Cele was replaced by Shaun Mogaila, Sepana Letsoalo was replaced by Tshegofatso Mabasa and Rowan Human by Tebogo Tlolane.
The trio changed the complexion of the match and helped the hosts to move the ball faster to the Eswatini defensive third.
“Tshego can score goals at any given time. He might not give you what [Sepana] Letsoalo would give you in terms of being quick into spaces, like [Iqraam] Reyners, but Tshego is a finisher,” Ramoreboli said after the game.
“Again, it was also a risk and a motivation for Tshegofatsho Mabasa because he needs to come back and remind people who Tshegofatso Mabasa [is].
“In the match against Botswana, we did not use Tebogo Tlolane, but today we have to play him because we needed a bit of anaerobic endurance in the midfield in terms of covering the distance, and also the thinking because he could hold the ball and see the opponents. We needed that.
“Against Botswana we overused [Shaun] Mogaila and in this match we had to try and manage his energy, that is why we had to bring him later.”
Bafana will face best runner-up, Zambia, in the semi-final on Friday at the King Zwelithini stadium at 18:00 pm.