Forget Egypt…Let’s Beat Sierra Leone

Bafana Bafana need to beat Sierra Leone in their final group match in Mbombela Stadium on October 9th and hope Niger drop points in Cairo against the reigning African Champions Egypt.




CAF has announced that the last round of qualifiers will kick-off at the same time. This will not give anyone an advantage.



Group G

Team               MP    W   D    L    GF   GA   GD    Pts

Niger                5      3    0    2    6      5     1      9

South Africa      5      2    2    1   4      2     2       8

Sierra Leone      5     2     2    1   5      5     0       8

Egypt                5      0     2    3   2      5    -3       2



Sierra Leone

The Leone Stars will come to South Africa knowing that a win could be enough for them to qualify for the African Cup of Nations finals. They are coming here for the 3 points and nothing less. This makes them a dangerous side. Sierra Leone managed to beat a young Egypt side last month at home 2-1.

"It is possible that we defeat South Africa in their own backyard and it is likely that Niger will drop points in Cairo". Coach Lars Olof Mattsson told sierraleonefootball.com.

They have 2 dangerous strikers who play overseas. Mohamed Bangura and Ibrahim Teteh Bangura who play for Glasgow Celtic (Scotland) and Bursaspor(Turkey) respectively. Mohamed Bangura scored the winning goal last month against Egypt.

Leone Stars last played in the African Cup of Nations finals in 1996 when South Africa hosted it. This is a team with something to prove.

They are not good travellers as they have failed to win away from home in any of their previous qualifiers. Sierra Leone lost by 3-1 away to Niger and played a 1-1 in Cairo against Egypt. Yes they will be dangerous but I do not expect them to win.

South Africa

Bafana Bafana have been impressive during the qualification rounds. They led this group for long periods of time. The tables turned in just one game in Niger where they lost for the 1st time 2-1. At home Bafana have won both their matches and have not conceded a single goal. Interestingly the 2 goals they conceded in Niger was the first time their defence had been breached in qualification.

In front of a packed crowd at Mbombela Stadium Bafana Bafana need to play their own brand of football that has seen them beat Egypt 1-0, Burkina Faso 3-0 and Niger 2-0 in recently. South Africa have improved in their passing game and keeping possession of the ball during their home games. Patience will be important in this match as the nerves sometimes cause teams to rush things.

For me the AFCON gives us a chance to make a statement in African football that we are back. The players that we have are in a position to restore the pride of South African football in the continent. It all starts on the 9th of October by clinching qualification to the 2012 event. Players like Thulani Serero, Andile Jali and Daylon Claasen need to announce their arrival in international football at a big tournament like the AFCON.

Katlego Mphela was badly missed against Niger but will be back for this game. He has been in devastating form for Sundowns this seasons scoring almost in every match played. Lehlohonolo Majoro and Bernard Parker have settled in nicely in their new surroundings at Naturena by finding the net a few times. At the back Siyabonga Sangweni is proving to be the signing of the season for Orlando Pirates with his solid play and no doubt would keep the two dangerous Sierra Leone strikers quiet during the match.

South Africa will be too strong for Sierra Leone at home and should win this match easily.

Pitso Mosimane

South Africa failed to qualify for AFCON 2010. Pitso has been tasked with restoring Bafana Bafana’s pride in African football. He has also had to build a team that will qualify and compete in Brazil 2014 World Cup.

He has his critics who feel he is an arrogant man. Personally I think he believes in himself and his ideas. He has a good relationship with his players and technical staff. This is the man who took over a side from Carlos Alberto Parreira after the 2010 World Cup.

South Africa play a very attractive brand of football these days and have a good record in the last 2 years as they continue to climb in the FIFA Rankings. Qualification is very important to AFCON is very important for the team and for Pitso as he will be able to test his team in tournament conditions and against the best of Africa. Pitso has a very good football brain and will come up with a match-winning strategy against Sierra Leone.

He does not mind to play ugly football just as long as the team wins at the end of the day. The great thing about this match is that Pitso knows exactly what result is needed. A draw is not enough. Only a win is needed.

Hope in Egypt

Former USA coach Bob Bradley is set to become Egypt's new coach, but it is not known yet whether he will play a part when the Pharaohs take on Niger in their final Africa Cup of Nations group match. He might want to use some of the older players and not the under-23 guys. When there is a new coach players tend to lift their game trying to impress him. This will be good for Bafana Bafana.

Egypt have been poor in this Group phase. For defending champions to play 5 games and not win a single match is bad. But they remain unbeaten at home. This is another good thing for Bafana Bafana. Niger will find it difficult to win in Cairo even if it is against an under-23 side. The crowd is always hostile.

No team has been able to get an away win in this group. This favours Egypt and South Africa who are both playing at home.

Possible Starting Line-up Bafana Bafana : Khune, Sangweni, Gould, Ngcongca, Tshabalala, Jali, Pienaar, Khuboni, Parker, Mphela



By Siyabonga Mavuso

Weekend Sports Wrap

These are my highlights of the weekend of sport we had:






Springboks 49-3 Fiji

It was a rugby lesson for the Islanders of Fiji on Saturday morning South African time. The Springboks showed that they can play exciting try-scoring rugby just like the All Blacks have been displaying so far. This was a perfomance of defending champions. Anyone of the 15 players could have walked away with a man of the match award. Before people start to say "it was only Fiji" well we have have to remind ourselves how well Fiji played 4 years ago in France. They are not pushovers as people think. The discipline showed by the Springboks is very encouraging for the remainder of the tournament. They managed to score 6 tries without conceding a try themselves. Namibia is next.



Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr knocks out Victor Ortiz

Big time boxing is known for its controversy over the years. This goes from points decisions that are not expected to ear-biting incidents. You might say we should expect the unexpected in boxing.



I was looking forward to this particular match because we have not seen Floyd Mayweather Jr inside the ring in over a year. This was a perfect opportunity to see him losing his unbeaten record to a young fit champion in Ortiz.



Floyd looked in peak condition for this fight and he has not lost any of his sharpness. The first 3 rounds totally belonged to Mayweather. He was throwing the most punches and landing them. In the 4th round Ortiz started coming back into the fight and was pushing Floyd on the back foot most of the time. Ortiz had him on the ropes and then after landing a series of powerful punches he did the unthinkable....Ortiz head-butted Mayweather! The head-butt was shocking but it was followed with an apology from Ortiz. The ref pulled the fighters apart and deducted a point from Ortiz. When he told the fighters to resume fighting Ortiz gave Mayweather a hug and continued apologising. Mayweather responded with a left-right combination to a defenceless Ortiz and that was all she wrote...



This KO left a bitter taste in the mouth (no pun intended). Any boxing fan wants to see a fair KO. Mayweather was well within the rules as the ref had instructed the fighters to continue boxing. Ortiz forgot the all important rule in boxing. Protect Yourself At All Times!



Manchester United 3-1 Chelsea



This is my match of the season so far. It was brilliant, heart-breaking and hilarious at times. Anyone who loves to watch football would have enjoyed this one. Two giants of English football going at it for 90 minutes.



The main charaters for this match were Fernando Torres, Wayne Rooney and Nani. Every highlight in this game included one or two of these guys.



I will start with Fernando Torres. He has had a very difficult time at Chelsea and has struggled to find his form of 2 seasons ago. But on this day the old Torres was back. His movement was a joy to watch, he was setting up play for other team-mates and he scored a beauty of a goal. Yes I will mention THAT MISS but we have to look at the positive. Nani scored a cracker of a goal. Rooney managed to block his own penalty kick and Berbatov continued his lack of form in front of goals.

Match Preview: Kaizer Chiefs vs Bloemfontein Celtic

They say everywhere Chiefs plays is like a home game for them because of their supporters who spreadout around South Africa. Well this is not true for atleast one fixture in the PSL season. Chiefs fans are always out-numbered when they visit Bloemfontein to play Cetic.

On Saturday 24 September Kaizer Chiefs will take on Bloemfontein Celtic at Seisa Ramabodu Stadium. The tickets for this match are already on sale and are being snapped up fast.

Kaizer Chiefs are on a high after beating their rivals and defending league champions Orlando Pirates this past weekend. This win has lifted the mood in the Chiefs camp following the 2 losses suffered in the previous week.

Celtic on the other hand are lying 9th on the PSL log table. This is after they lost in Cape Town against Santos 2-1. Celtic started the season well with a very good 3-0 win away against Golden Arrows with players like Mulenga and Mshengu on the scoresheet.

This is always a tough encounter as last season it ended 2-2. Kaizer Chiefs have not won an away game against Celtic since 2008/2009 season. Vladimir Vermezovic would want to correct this record and win the match. Nengomasha will be back in the side after serving his 1 match suspension for collecting his 3rd yellow card this season. Lucky Baloyi was not seriously injured against Pirates so he might be back into the team.

Clinton Larsen has done a very good job last season with Celtic and their home record was very impressive throughout the season. I cannot wait for this encounter between two very well supported teams in South Africa.

Result Last Season: Bloemfontein Celtic 2-2 Kaizer Chiefs
My Prediction : Bloemfontein Celtic 2:1 Kaizer Chiefs