Bafana Bafana striker Tokelo Rantie says he is disappointed at missing the penalty that could have seen South Africa take an unassailable 2-0 lead against Algeria on Monday.

The North Africans came back to score three goals after the miss, including an own goal from defender Thulani Hlatshwayo, to win the match 1-3 in the opening clash of the CAF Orange Africa Cup of Nations Equatorial Guinea 2015 tournament.

South Africa now has a mammoth task to win their remaining two games – against Senegal on Friday (23 January) and Ghana on Tuesday (27 January).

SAFA Media spoke to Rantie after the match.

Q: Your thoughts on the match?

A: I think our overall performance was impressive. We created a lot of chances and we could have wrapped it up before the end of the first half. The good thing is that we are creating chances, now we just need to convert them.

Q: Starting off with a loss puts Bafana Bafana under pressure, even though we are left with two games?

A: Yes of course it does, but at the same time it can work as a positive. It can also give us the boost and the motivation going into the next game. I personally believe that we can get the remaining six points. If you look back at our match against Algeria you can see we created a lot of chances and I strongly believe we can create those chances again against Senegal and Ghana. And if we can continue with the same kind of performance we had against Algeria, I don’t think anything can stop us from competing against the others. I believe we are still in it.

Q: The team is devastated with the Algeria result….

A: Yes, very much so because it is the first loss in 11 matches and we were not used to losing anymore. It’s a setback for us, so we just have to rectify the mistakes we did. We all know that whenever there is a loss, there is a lot of criticism, and rightly so, but then again there could also be a lot of positivity into how we turn that negativity into positives.

Q: How do we turn things around?

A: We will have to forget about the previous match. It’s gone, it’s behind us and we now need to focus on the task ahead because we can’t change that result. The next games we play we have to make sure we collect maximum points because you can’t stay in a tournament if you don’t have points, if you don’t score goals. We still have a chance.

Q: Tell us about the penalty, what was going through your mind?

A: I take full responsibility. When we were awarded the penalty I just went for the ball as I felt very confident and did not even think I could miss it. I am very disappointed that it did not go in but as we all know it can happen to anyone in the game. No person steps up to take the penalty to miss. I am trying hard not to dwell on it because it will not help me move forward when I am given another chance to play.

The penalty issue is gone and it’s time to move on. I am also glad I have teammates who understand that it could also happen to anyone. They didn’t criticise me even though they are disappointed that I did not score. If I take all the negativity of missing the penalty into the next match I will be failing my teammates and the whole squad as I will not be able to perform to the best of my abilities. Stressing about the penalty won’t help anyone. I just need to be mentally strong. But I am very excited about the next game. That is my focus right now.

Q: Given a chance, would you take the penalty again?

A: Most definitely, I will do so. That is how confident I am having learnt from my mistake. I know at the moment there is a lot of criticism for the miss, but it comes with the territory and as players we have to learn to accept that. But if you dwell on that you will only be destroying yourself and your career. The most important thing as I said is to be focused on the next challenge and try to do the correct thing. It is sad that people tend to forget the good things we players do but dwell on one mistake. I was happy with the responsibility I had of taking the penalty, but, again, I am very disappointed with the miss.

Q: Crucial game against Senegal, who won against Ghana. What needs to be done to motivate the players for that match?

A: We have had a lot of discussions with the coach and the technical team to rectify our mistakes in the match against Algeria. To be honest we are not a bad team, we believe we are one of the best in the tournament and play good football but there are have some areas that need working – like finishing and a bit of defending as a unit. It will be a completely different ball game against Senegal in terms of going forward. If we just continue with the way we played against Algeria I believe we can get the points against Senegal and be back on track.

Q: Six points to play for, still confident of the second round?

A: Most definitely. I have always been positive. I don’t think God can bring us here for no reason. I don’t think we can play 11 games, lose one and be a bad team overnight. We have a team that is capable of achieving things.

Q: To South Africans fans back home, who are cheering the team on, what can you say?

A: First of all, I want to thank them for all the messages of good wishes and for all the support. We know they are disappointed after the loss. But we will do our best in the next match to get a victory. They should remain behind us as they have been since the qualifiers. We are still in the tournament, it’s not over yet. As a nation we need to stand together and support each other because that’s all we need to go forward. We can’t go to war with half of the army. We need everyone on board, and the fans’ backing will get the best out of us.

-TDN

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Johannesburg – A startling video of a smash-and-grab in progress has gone viral around the country.

The 50-second clip, which was uploaded on YouTube on Thursday, has had more than 50 000 views.

It shows a white Land Rover Discovery stuck in traffic in Witkoppen Road before the Cambridge Road intersection.

A man, who looks and acts like a beggar, comes up to the passenger-side window and cups his hands, pleading for food or money.

For more http://www.iol.co.za

Cape Town – Escalating electricity costs, property prices and salaries are driving up the costs of schooling, putting the squeeze on the budgets of parents.

The increases are affecting public as well as independent schools, neither immune to the effects of rapidly rising costs.

Paul Colditz, chief executive of the Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (Fedsas), said that, on average, fees would have increased by about 10 percent a year since 2013.

For more http://www.iol.co.za

Pretoria – Sugar daddies daddies who prowl the city’s tertiary institutions searching for vulnerable young women should look elsewhere for sexual pleasures and allow students to pursue their goals.

Youth movements under the Progressive Youth Alliance banner said sugar daddies posed a challenge and were a common sight in the city’s northern region, including Soshanguve and Ga-Rankuwa, where there was a high number of vulnerable girls.

For more http://www.iol.co.za

Johannesburg – The North West education department is investigating allegations that teachers at a high school in Maboloka were bribed by pupils to be promoted to the next grade without writing their examinations.

“The department stepped in to investigate the matter on the basis of the allegations that were surfacing,” department spokesman Brian Setswambung told Sapa.

“It is alleged that some learners were involved in buying report cards from teachers.”

The Motshwane High School pupils involved were from Grade 10 and 11.

“Not all the pupils were involved. It emerged that only some pupils were involved” said Setswambung.

The department said it was going through examination scripts to determine which pupils had been involved in the alleged bribery.

He said until the matter was finalised, all grade 10 and 11 pupils from the school would remain in the grades they were in last year.

“By Monday, the investigation report will be ready,” he said.

The Sowetan on Friday reported that pupils paid teachers an R800 bribe to promote them to the next grade.

About eight pupils had boasted that they had passed despite them not writing exams.

One pupil recorded the conversation on his cellphone and handed it to the department, demanding that he also be promoted.

Sapa

Tonga – An Mpumalanga man who raped an eight-year-old girl while caring for her blind father was sentenced to life behind bars by the Tonga Regional Court on Tuesday.

Bongani Mtsakatsi Maseko, 25, of Mbuzini village near the Swaziland and Mozambique border, was sentenced after pleading guilty to rape, a Sapa correspondent reported.

“Maseko, the community is sick and tired of living among people like you. I will make sure that I give you a sentence that suits the crime that you have committed,” Magistrate Edgar Moletsane told him.

Maseko was asked to look after the girl’s father.

“You raped her, taking advantage of the fact that her father was blind and could not see what you were doing to his daughter,” he said.

Maseko was also banned from owning a gun. He was arrested on October, 1, 2013, three years after first raping the girl in 2010.

Sapa

Johannesburg – The trial of a man who allegedly threw acid over his ex-girlfriend is expected to begin in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

During his last appearance in December, Jan Pieterse, 29, was denied bail as the court heard he was a flight risk and that after the attack he allegedly continued sending text messages to Ines Antonio, 22, threatening to kill her. Pieterse is charged with attempted murder.

The court felt his three-year-old daughter with Antonio could be at risk if he was released on bail.

“We have to consider the interests of the child who is being looked after by a landlady,” police detective, Constable Edith Thaisa told the magistrate at the time.

Antonio is in hospital undergoing skin grafts after sustaining burns to her face and chest in the attack outside her home in Sydenham on November 3.

Their daughter, who was with Antonio at the time, sustained minor acid burns to her arms.

Sapa

Johannesburg – A police officer in charge of firearm licences in Gauteng has been arrested for theft and illegal possession of ammunition, police said on Wednesday.

Colonel Chris Prinsloo was arrested last week in Vereeniging after he was allegedly found in possession of 750 rounds of ammunition, said police spokesman Lt-Gen Solomon Makgale.

“He appeared on Monday in the Vereeniging Magistrates Court and was released on bail of R5 000,” said Makgale.

“The investigation started more than a year ago in the Western Cape as part of Operation Combat which aimed at addressing gangsterism,” said Makgale.

He said the investigation was continuing but could not provide further details at this stage.

Eyewitness News however, reported that Prinsloo’s arrest was apparently linked to a wider investigation relating to police officers selling firearms, ammunition and gun licences to criminal gangs operating primarily in the Western Cape.

Prinsloo was expected back in court on March 11.

Makgale expressed disappointment at Prinsloo’s arrest, adding that national police commissioner Riah Phiyega wanted to ensure that the police served the nation with the highest level of ethical and professional conduct.

Sapa

Johannesburg – The Democratic Alliance in Gauteng has asked premier David Makhura to call for a referendum to test the views of local residents on e-tolls.

The DA maintains that Gauteng residents want the total scrapping of e-tolls and nothing else.

The main opposition’s call came on Tuesday as Makhura urged local residents to offer suggestions on what he should include in his planned second State of the Province address on February.

For more http://www.iol.co.za

EBEBIYIN – Heldon helped Cape Verde hold on for a 1-1 draw against Tunisia on Sunday at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).

The Sporting Lisbon forward equalized from the penalty spot in the 77th minute, shortly after being brought down by Tunisia defender Syam Ben Youssef.

Mohamed Ali Moncer had given Tunisia the lead in the 70th minute. Jamel Saihi set up the score with pass to Ali Maaloul, who then rolled the ball across the front of goal to Moncer.

The draw leaves all four teams in Group B with one point each. In the other group match, Zambia and Congo also drew 1-1.

Both matches were played in Ebebiyin at a new stadium carved out of the dense jungle in the northeastern corner of Equatorial Guinea.

The stadium was filled with spectators, but the newly laid turf took a beating as players cut up large chunks with nearly every slide.

Cape Verde had plenty of chances to score before Moncer gave the Tunisians the lead, including a header from Fernando Varela that hit the post in the second minute.

In the 56th, Kuca Miranda broke free and beat Tunisia goalkeeper Aymen Mathlouthi but Ben Youssef cleared the ball off the line.

Ben Youssef then nearly gave his team the lead in the 63rd but his goal was disallowed for a foul on Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha moments after Yasine Chikhaoui had hit the post with a header.

Cape Verde will take on Congo in the next set of Group B matches on Thursday, while Tunisia will face 2012 champion Zambia.

– Sapa-AP