By Obakeng Maje
Bafana Bafana lost 1-0 to Poland in an international friendly match played on Friday, 12 October 2012. The clash took place in Warsaw’s National Stadium.
South Africa’s head coach Gordon Igesund made five changes to the team that defeated Mozambique in Nelspruit last month.
Goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune and Kagisho Dikgacoi returned to the squad while Sifiso Myeni, Luvhengo Mungomeni and Ricardo Nunes earned their first caps.
The match was used as part of the preparations for Poland who meet England in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier next week, while Bafana Bafana will take on Kenya in Nairobi on Tuesday, 16 October.
Once again, just like his heroics in Brazil, Itumeleng Khune put out a fine performance against Poland, first denying Arkadiusz Piech in a one-on-one situation in the 26th minute.
He was back again to stop Sobiech from what looked like a certain goal and despite having a busy evening; he could do nothing about Marcin Komorowski’s 82nd minute shot which gave the hosts victory.
South Africa did have the ball in the back of the net from Siyabonga Sangweni late header, but the effort was ruled offside.
“Congratulations to Poland for the victory, but I believe we deserved something from the game. I am not disappointed with the performance of my players, but I am unhappy that we gave away a very soft goal. I think we achieved what we wanted from this match. It was a good and worthwhile exercise,” said Bafana coach Igesund.
“Poland started well but Khune did well to keep us in the game. I also believe we did not have enough bodies in the box to punish them. It is better to lose games like these and be ready for the Africa Cup of Nations tournament because I am building a squad for that showpiece. It was a great test for us.”
Igesund was happy with debutant Ricardo Nunes.
“He did reasonably well and he showed some quality. But I still believe he can still improve,” he said.
Bafana Bafana captain Bongani Khumalo believes despite the loss, there are some positives to take out of this result.
“It is a bitter pill to swallow, more so because we conceded so late in the match. We had some chances which we did not capitalise on and at this level we have to bury every opportunity we get, even half a chance.
“Be that as it may, we are forging ahead with our mission of preparing a team for Afcon, so we have to keep on fighting, we have to keep on working hard and the results will eventually come,” said the Greece-based defender.
Bafana Bafana who travel to Nairobi on Saturday, will have one training session before taking on Kenya on Tuesday.
That clash will take place at Nyayo National Stadium and kicks off at 19h00 Kenyan time (18h00 SA time)
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