Pitso’s Bafana rocked by Benni’s Kenya in AFCON draw

Ogam's late strike puts a dent in Bafana's AFCON hopes. Bafana Bafana’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifying hopes hit a major snag on Friday evening as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Benni McCarthy’s Kenya in their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations Group D clash at the Orlando Amstel Arena. Relebohile Mofokeng looked to have given Bafana the three points when he lashed home in the 77th minute to put Bafana 2-1 up. But substitute Ryan Ogam capitalised on a defensive error by Olwethu Makhanya with a minute left to drill home a superb low finish. Bafana held at home Pitso Mosimane’s side are a point clear of Guinea at the top of Group D. But with only one of the two qualifying alongside co-hosts Kenya, Bafana’s qualification has got more complicated. Bafana could do with a win against Kenya in Nairobi on Tuesday, but they will have to play far better than this. Mosimane’s side, with former Bafana head coach Hugo Broos looking on from the stands, created enough chances to win the match. But they also struggled to match Kenya’s physicality in attack, and Mosimane’s decision to leave out Mbekezeli Mbokazi will no doubt be scrutinised. McCarthy came back to haunt Mosimane in Orlando. The Harambee Stars head coach caused ‘Jingles’ plenty of problems when he was in charge of Cape Town City, and Mosimane was at Sundowns. He showed his delight as Ogam’s strike went in, though there must have also been some mixed emotions for Bafana’s leading goalscorer. Kenya showed immediately that they were not in Orlando just to make up the numbers, nearly taking the lead inside the first minute. Kenya’s early chance Real Sociedad forward Job Ochieng’s cross found Adam Wilson, and he produced a spectacular overhead kick that Ronwen Williams did well to tip over the bar. Bafana began to take control of the game in front of their own fans. A short corner from Aubrey Modiba found Mofokeng, and he span away from his man. Mofokeng tried to surprise Kenya goalkeeper Byrne Odhiambo with a near post shot, but he was equal to the task. Olunga then made a better save from Iqraam Rayners’ header as Bafana applied the pressure. A long ball from Modiba found Mofokeng who killed the ball superbly with one touch and set up Tshepang Moremi. But he blazed the ball over the bar. Bafana were being wasteful in front of goal and it took a Kenyan howler to hand them the lead in the ninth minute. . Harambee Stars bounce back after own-goal A poor pass from Frank Odhiambo had Amos Wanjala running towards his own goal. Wanjala was under some pressure from Mofokeng, but still should have done better than pass the ball past Byrne Odhiambo and into his own net. Bafana, however, didn’t make their dominance count and Kenya had a chance to level from the spot in the 44th minute. Thabang Matuludi didn’t know much about the cross that struck him in the arm but it was raised above his head and Gabonese referee Patrice Mebiame pointed to the spot. Michael Olunga stepped up and sent Williams the wrong way to become Kenya’s joint-leading goalscorer with 35 goals. Olunga should have given Kenya the lead early in the second half but headed a great chance wide. Another defensive error from Bryce Odhiambo then let in Iqraam Rayners, but Byrne Odhiambo made a sharp save. It was end-to-end stuff and William Lenkupae Jnr fired another effort over the bar for the Harambee Stars. In the 58th minute, Oswin Appollis played in Mofokeng, and his delicately-curled shot came back off the post. Mofokeng makes it count but… Mosimane had brought on Lyle Foster and Puso Dithejane to try and add some spark to his attack. And the two nearly combined as Dithejane broke down the right and cross but Foster couldn’t quite get on the end of it. The same pair combined in the 71st minute and Foster should have scored this time, but headed over Dithejane’s delivery. Bafana did finally strike, however, in the 79th minute, and it was Mofokeng who broke the Kenyan wall. His cross found Foster, who laid the ball back to Mofokeng, and ‘President Yama2K’ hammered the ball past Bryce Odhiambo. Bafana must have thought they had won it. But Ogam had other ideas. Makhanya failed to deal with a bouncing ball, and the 21-year-old surged past him before drilling a fine low shot past Williams.