A stunning second-half strike by Sipho Mbule saw Bafana Bafana secure a hard-fought 1-0 win over Ghana’s Black Galaxies team.
Hugo Broos did ring the changes compared to his usual line-up, with the likes of Ricardo Goss, Thabang Matuludi, Bathusi Aubaas and Tshepang Moremi getting rare starts against Ghana’s CHAN team.
Bafana had a good chance to open the scoring after 10 minutes but a header by Sipho Mbule just missed the target.
Chances, though, were very few in the first 45 minutes, with Mohau Nkota sending a free-kick past the Black Galaxies goal late in the half.
Sipho Chaine, Teboho Mokoena and Oswin Appollis replaced Goss, Mbatha and Nkota at half-time.
Bafana played with more urge going forward, with especially Appollis looking lively but it was Sipho Mbule who opened the scoring with a powerful shot from outside the box after 56 minutes.
Broos continued to ring the changes, with Relebohile Mofokeng replacing Mbule, while Elias Mokwana came on in place of Moremi.
Bafana almost doubled their score after a cross by Appollis missed everyone inside the box, with Khulumani Ndamane almost heading it in at the far post.
The home side survived a scare in the 77th minute when a long ball reached Ghana’s Emmanuel Annor, who put the ball on the inside of the post before it bounced out.
Chaine was called into action late in the game and superbly pushed a deflected cross over the cross bar to keep the result in tact after 85 minutes.
Broos’ men will now travel to Morocco on Wednesday, with Lyle Foster, Sphelelo Sithole and Shandre Campbell joining them in Marrakech.
They will open their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations campaign against Angola on 22 December.
Image by: Lebohang Tsotetsi