SENEGAL PAY THE PENALTY! Like a well-oiled machine, Bafana are firmly on the road to Russia

OUTRAGEOUS: Senegal players - and officials - were furious
when referee Joseph Lamptey gave handball for THIS, when
Idrissa Gana Gueye was clearly hit on the thigh 

THE defining moment of Bafana Bafana’s unexpected 2-0 win over the mighty Lions of Senegal on Saturday is not one to remember with any great pride.

It came after a tough 40 minutes for South Africa against a side packed with European stars on a muggy Polokwane afternoon. Eleazar Rodgers, who battled gamely throughout, dive-headed goalwards and quite clearly hit Senegal defender Idrissa Gueye on the thigh.

But this is where referee Joseph Lamptey and his mates earned that Moment of the Match award. With not a single appeal from Bafana, Lamptey pointed to the spot, awarding a quite unwarranted penalty to the home team. Replays show it went nowhere near that bandaged hand.

Even Mark Gleeson, the SuperSport commentator I grew up with in Clubview a million years ago, said: “Now that’s a hometown decision” before captain Tyson Hlatshwayo hit a tame penalty past Diallo, who got a hand to it.

Seconds later, with Senegal’s galaxy of EuroStars still stunned, Thulani Serero, Ajax Amsterdam’s non-playing midfielder, ran on to the ball as it left the box and the ball wriggled in to the corner.

After 40 minutes of admiring Senegal’s superior touch and distribution, Shakes Mashaba found himself with a 2-0 lead and a view of years of riches still to come. Not bad for a man who is constantly chided by SAFA president Danny Jordaan.

In direct defiance of his bosses (or some of them) Mashaba threw on Bradley Grobler, the 28-year-old SuperSport United striker in the second half, ignoring the man SAFA asked to come to South Africa for the first time in his life, Dutch-born Lars Veldwijk.

The 24-year-old, whose dad left South Africa aged 14, languished on the bench throughout, though his height - at 6ft 5in, just an inch smaller than our loftiest Tower Mathoho - might have helped.

Senegal fought back with substitute Ndoye scoring after a lengthy goal-mouth scramble featuring two goal-line blocks from Itumeleng Khune.

We should, we must, celebrate a victory over Senegal, now the second best side in Africa. Mashaba has us at 13 on the continent, these were three unexpected points, a real boost for the national squad after Mamelodi Sundowns equally unexpected African Champions League triumph.

Tiyani Mabunda, a surprise starter after his late call for the injured Dean Furman, said: "It wasn't easy in this game. I got a knock. It's nothing compared to what we've done for the nation.

"If this is what it takes to make the nation proud, I'm willing to go for it. The fans came out, they're signing gave us a push."

Mashaba, with his side now top of the qualifying group, said: "There's nothing else one can say. We are celebrating, we needed this win. Fans brought positive energy to the team. We should have scored four goals in this game if it was our lucky day.

"The two goals made life easy for us. They didn't expect us to score goals against them. I think we did very well.

"We always say to the boys, second half it's dangerous. Don't defend too deep. Senegal are too big, our back four did very well, Mathoho, Rivaldo.

"What about the match intelligence of the players individually? They did it. You don't need to be throwing the ball away. Fatigue took its toll. They were right on it, I'm telling you.

"This is one of the most hectic games they've played in their life."

He finished with: "Let me say to you, I've got to celebrate this win. My second lease of life. I was already buried. The media had bought a casket for me. We weren't given a chance."

All true of course. But somehow, it does’t feel right. The penalty, and several other decisions, appeared to go against the visitors. Senegal were clearly a technically superior side though, as South Africans know only too well, the well-paid foreign stars aren’t too good in such troubled situations.

We ended with Khune keeping Senegal out behind a shaky defence and going down injured as per the usual recipe. But the 2-1 lead stood until the final whistle.

Aliou Diouf, the Senegal coach, spent most of the game in a state of suspended disbelief, though Bafana fans may point to the opening game in Burkina Faso as another example of African refereeing at its finest.

My thoughts went back to that penalty-peppered 5-0 pre-World Cup win over Guatemala at the same Peter Mokabe ground in 2010. I said it at the time and it was confirmed later: match fixing, though the same people still run SAFA. Is it fair? Should we celebrate such an obvious case of dodgy refereeing?

Guess we have to. It won’t change. CAF can’t deal with lasers and flates, so referees and linesmen aren’t going to take any flak.

So congratulations Bafana Bafana. Good luck in Cape Verde. And Senegal. Months away (August 28 next year), but you may need it.

South Africa topped the group briefly but after Burkina Faso's 2-0 win over Cape Verde, here's Group D as it stands:

 Burkina Faso 2 4
South Africa 2 4
Senegal 2 3 Cape Verde 2 0

It's not a disaster! But it was an injustice. South Africa 1, Mali 1 - and a draw against Nigeria on Sunday will do nicely

The deadly elbow: Bernard Parker

Imagine, if you will, the scene in downtown Bamako earlier tonight. Dad and sons sitting in front of the television, kicking the dog and shouting in French: “We wuz robbed! Merde!”

Come on, you know it’s true. South Africans must put themselves in Mali’s shoes tonight. Itumeleng Khune’s rash ninth-minute challenge on the impressive Abdoulaye Sissoko WAS a penalty. On SABC1, former Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Deshi Bhaktawer admitted: “He was two weeks late, nowhere near the ball, penalty for me.”

Not 15 minutes later, at the other end, PENALTY GIVEN as Lindokuhle Mbatha, making his full debut, was hauled down JUST OUTSIDE THE BOX.  Souleymane Konate found himself booked and Bernard Parker crashed home the penalty, as he does. Bhaktawer was spot on again: “It was outside the box, and he didn’t make much contact. No penalty.”

And that, my footballing loving friends, was that for the first half. Though out-played and out-muscled, Bafana got to half-time 1-0 up.

Ibrahima Sidibe’s second half equaliser was inevitable, exposing South Africa's defensive frailties. Well taken though. And just.

So how do the Malians feel? And any neutrals? Remember, South Africa has done little to dispel the match-fixing cloud raised by FIFA after those dodgy pre-World Cup friendlies in 2010. Suspensions were handed out, then rescinded. The great Presidential Inquiry appears to have been forgotten. Nobody has been punished.

And Mozambicans may feel Parker’s penalty on Saturday, which put Bafana back in the game at 1-0 down, was unjust too - as was the spot kick in their 4-2 defeat against Nigeria last night.

Essentially, a 1-1 draw against higher-ranked Mali (exactly as I predicted) was a good result for the hosts. They can afford to finish with a draw against Nigeria and no matter what the vastly superior Malians do against pointless Mozambique, the hosts will go through to the quarter-finals. Probably in second place.

With Sissoko hitting the woodwork and Bloemfontein Celtic’s Thabo “Mr Price” Nthethe showing once more how far short of international class he really is next to young Buhle Mkhwanazi, Mali ended the game as it had begun: putting pressure on the home goal.

Itumeleng Khune, eager to move to the European big-time, appeared over-anxious. The highlight of his game, apart from a couple of rash rushes from his goal, came just before half-time when he tried a cheeky shot from all of 60 yards that dropped just over the Mali bar.

The midfield pairing of Hlompho Kekana and Matthew Pattison struggled. Kekana, scorer of a match-changing scorcher in the opening 3-1 triumph over Mozambique on Saturday, had one mighty shot which bent wide but failed in his task to replace the injured Reneilwe Letsholonyane as a box-to-box midfielder. Pattison was forced to become a poor man’s Dean Furman, breaking down attack after attack, unable to move over the halfway line or create anything vaguely constructive.

Up front, Bernard Parker found himself outpaced by the athletic Malians, with little or no support – especially when Gordon Igesund left him on his own up front, removing second striker Edward Manqele, who had been warming up before the 54^th minute Mali equaliser. Weird that. It looked like going with one up front was a “park the bus” concept ruined by Sidibe’s well-taken leveller. But Igesund carried on with the substitution anyway.

And then, with Mali pushing for the winner, we had to endure the arrival of Lerato Chabangu as a replacement. Another Igesund favourite. His first task was to completely miss a volley just outside the box. How do the rest of the 23-man squad feel, watching replacements of that calibre?

But for all the critique of Igesund’s methods, a point represents something of a triumph. Only defeat against Nigeria in Cape Town will put South Africa out of the quarter-finals and given the talent on show from Mali last night, that’s not a disaster.

But if I were Cameroon referee Mal Souley Mohamadou, I’d probably avoid holidays in neighbouring Mali for a few lifetimes.

 BOLLOCKZ! my own football show on www.ballz.co.za, restarts after the Christmas break tomorrow at 9am. Supersport United coach Cavin Johnson will be on, explaining his loan signing of Bafana strike Dino Ndlovu. See the Ballz channel on www.YouTube.com for our growing collection of interviews with the big names in South African football.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal and Pray” column every Tuesday in www.thenewage.co.za.

BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice and how we are doing in using @thumperpigeon's R5,000 to make money for the Ballz charity WINGZ OF CHANGE.

South Africa 0, Uruguay 3: Sometimes, you just despair

Aren’t you glad you don’t have to watch South American football every week? The dives, the play-acting, the constant niggle. And oh, the pain they go through after every sliding tackle as they roll and roll.

Uruguay pulled out all their old Latin skills last night – though a masterful Diego Forlan can take an untainted bow. But in truth the 16^th best side in the world were far from impressive as they engineered a route past South Africa, the lowest ranked hosts in the history of the World Cup.

From a distance it may look different. Uruguay dominated, stroked the ball about, keeping possession for long periods. Then came what looked like the first authentic screamer of the tournament from outside the box. Diego Forlan’s effort appeared perfect with the ultra-light Jabulani ball, which dipped for the first time in the tournament, flying in just under the bar.

But examine it closely and Forlan’s 24^th-minute rasper took a touch off the neck of Portsmouth’s Aaron Mokoena, winning his 102^nd cap for Bafana Bafana last night. That’s why what looked a masterful strike from Forlan actually owed a lot to appearances.

And that’s what this 3-0 victory amounted to. Might look good to fans from that part of the world, to television commentators distracted by the vuvuzela but sheez, if Luiz Suarez went down with one more injury in a land without a National Health Scheme, his insurers may have fled the country.

All that became irrelevant when, after 76 frustrating minutes, home goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune – less than confident in front of 60,000 at an officially freezing Loftus Versfeld last night – was sent off.

Not because he committed an awful foul but because Luiz Suarez – yes, him again – produced a swan dive of such epic proportions, Swiss referee Massimo Busacca would have been insensitive not to offer his sympathies and a card. After all, Suarez had gone down at least twice before demanding a spot kick. And there was slight contact.

But the eagle-eyed television cameras will tell you Suarez was off-side anyway. Not that it mattered.

So, Khune sent off muttering, penalty, and Monieb Josephs on for his first touch of the World Cup. Up stepped Forlan, whose dad Pablo played in the 1966 World Cup, and stuck it into the top corner.

Pereira added another to complete a night of utter misery at a stadium more used to watching the charging Blue Bulls win rugby games.

For once, the vuvuzelas were silenced. Anger, disappointed, despair for the Rainbow Nation, who had enjoyed their World Cup journey so much in the build-up to this game. Then they came up against the cynical reality of world football at the top level.

Just ask Costa Rica, the CONCACAF nation they beat in the play-offs as CONMEBOL’s fifth-best side. I wasn’t there, but I know that still rankles with those who were. Google it.

The solution? I can only suggest a course in drama for a baffled Bafana Bafana. Or law. And perhaps urge Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira to push men forward a little more when his side are winning ball in the midfield. Though he won the World Cup in 1994, I guess he knew what he was doing.

Thus ended South Africa’s 14-match unbeaten run, extending back to when Parreira resumed his duties last November. The longest unbeaten run in football, only Holland (20) and Portugal (17) can offer better here.

What remains? France, for South Africa, in an even chillier Bloemfontein. Uruguay finish against Mexico. I fear the hosts, for the first time in the history of the World Cup, will fail to reach the knock-out stages. They were very poor last night.

On the night, they were too lightweight, too excited – particularly Siphiwe Tshabalala, who scored that screamer in the opening game against Soccer City and let it go to his head.

Captain Mokoena said: "That was unacceptable. Totally unacceptable. We lost our belief, stopped playing. We still have France to play. We have to bounce back."

The great disappointment? Everton’s player of the year Steven Pienaar. The great engine he showed us in the Premier League last winter looked like it needed oil, the lung-bursting runs at altitude just weren’t there.

This piece is written with a heavy heart. This earlier piece wasn't. See http://bleacherreport.com/articles/406996-fifa-world-cup-2010-switzerland-1-spain-0-oh-how-i-love-this-game

Tonight my son Charlie, 13 tomorrow, with his views on Arsenal... and you can see a video of his Bucks Cup basketball final win this week

Arsenal had an excellent performance today with a 2-0 win over West Ham. There was an awful decision by referee Martin Atkinson when the challenge by the Arsenal centre half, Tomas Vermaelen on Hammers’ striker Guillermo Franco.
This happened when West Ham smacked a hit-and-hope punt down the pitch, the ball was still in the air and the two players where hustling for the ball and Franco just inside the box got out muscled off it and went down. Referee Atkinson immediately awarded a harsh penalty. Then Vermaelen got irrationally sent off.
After the sending off of Thomas Vermaelen, at half time, Arsene Wenger demanded to talk too the ref. The ref then insisted on talking too Arsene Wenger in private.
But Arsenal, on a run of five successive wins since those defeats against Manchester United and Chelsea, didn’t falter. After Denilson’s early goal, Manuel Almunia saved Diamante’s penalty and Cesc Fabregas made the game safe from the spot after Matthew Upson handled.
Arsenal have gained themselves first place with a one point lead over Manchester United – who face Liverpool tomorrow – and Chelsea – who play Blackburn - with seven games left in the season.
There were a couple off great performances today, one was Emmanuel Eboue was played instead of Bacary Sagna. Eboue, who has 12 brothers and sisters back home in the Ivory Coast, had a great game by attacking down the right wing and always giving an option for Samir Nasri. He may not be the best player in the world but in the last couple of games, the 26-year-old has been extraordinary.