An inspired Itumeleng Khune put any doubts about his selection to the SA Olympic team to rest with a monumental display in an incredible 0-0 draw against Brazil on Thursday.
|||An inspired Itumeleng Khune put any doubts about his selection to the South African Under-23 team to rest with a monumental display that single-handedly secured his team an incredible 0-0 draw against Brazil on Thursday night.
Kaizer Chiefs superstar Khune put all his skill and agility to optimum use by making a number of world-class saves to keep out the likes of Neymar and Gabriel Barbosa to earn Owen da Gama’s side a valuable point in Group A of the Rio Olympics football competition.
While South Africa had the better of the first half, with captain Keagan Dolly in full cry, the tide changed once midfielder Mothobi Mvala was sent off in the 59th minute for a second bookable offence which saw Da Gama’s outfit reduced to 10 men for the last half-an-hour.
And gradually Brazil gained the upper hand, with Brazilian captain Neymar getting more involved as the match reached its climax. But Khune made save after save to deny the home fans a victory at the Mané Garrincha Stadium in Brasilia.
But it wasn’t like that from the start as after a few hairy moments in the opening five minutes, Da Gama’s side settled down and troubled the South Americans with their pace and trickery on the ball. Dolly in particular caused the hosts problems down the left flank, launching counter-attacks from the back and creating space for his teammates upfront.
Where in the past South Africa were too reliant on Dolly, the visitors mixed things up cleverly as the likes of Gift Motupa, Menzi Masuku and Lebogang Mothiba benefited as they pushed forward and put the Brazilians under enormous pressure.
Aubrey Modiba fired in South Africa’s first shot in the 10th minute, which went just wide, but the Brazilians battled to get into the game. Barcelona superstar Neymar didn’t have much of an impact in the opening half-an-hour, with fellow front-man Gabriel Barbosa providing much more of a headache with his size and movement.
Dolly, though, was the fulcrum of the South African attack and created two great chances within two minutes in the second quarter. The Sundowns star flew down the left and put in a perfect through-ball for Mothiba, who got a crucial touch, but Brazilian goalkeeper Weverton came out to avert the danger.
The second opportunity saw Dolly expertly controlling the ball and delivering a superb cross into the box that Weverton fumbled, but the Brazilian recovered in time.
South Africa’s best chance inevitably involved Dolly, who produced a 30-yard pile-driver that looked like it had the beating of Weverton, but the ball just skimmed the bar.
Neymar finally got into the action five minutes before halftime when he got an attempt on goal, but Khune stretched and tipped the ball onto the crossbar to concede a corner.
Dolly nearly created the opening after the break with a classy ball along the ground, but there was no South African on the end of it.
The dramatic turn of events came when Mvala committed a second bookable foul within a few minutes of each other, and Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz had no hesitation in pulling out the red card.
But despite all of Neymar and Co’s efforts, Khune, the excellent Erick Mathoho, Abbubaker Mobara and the rest of the South African defence stood strong for a well-deserved point.
South Africa’s next match is against Denmark on Monday, August 8 (Sunday midnight SA time).
ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za
@ashfakmohamed
