By Kei Emmanuel Duku
For the second time in a row, The Bright lost 3:2 to South Africa in the African Cup of qualifiers played in a fully parked Juba stadium on Tuesday evening.
In a game where the first half was dominated by South Africa, the Bafana Bafana should have taken the lead in the first 4 minutes of the first half through Teboho Mokena but his outside afford went wide.
As the tempo built on, the playing formation of 4:3:3 paid the result as the Bright Stars started to rely on the counterattack. However, it was The Bright Stars who took the lead in the 12th minute of the first half through Tito Okello after he was brought down in the penalty area.
Tito Okello stood to take the penalty kick, and he made no mistake as he sent the South African goalkeeper in the opposite direction as he shot in the top of the roof to give Coach Nicholas Dupuis’s side a lead.
However, three minutes later, the Bafana Bafana equalized through Oswin Reagan Appollis.
As the two teams kept on mounting pressure on each other, Tito Okello got his wide shot intercepted by Valentino Yuel in the 35-minute but he failed to convert into the back of the net as he was penalized for offside.
In the first half, both teams wasted opportunities as South Africa striker Lyle Brent Foster failed to score from close range.
South Africa had a penalty appeal turned down by the centre referee in the 42nd minute after the ball had hit the woodwork twice and landed on one of South Sudan’s defenders.
Before half time, Oswin Reagan Appollis doubled the score line for Bafana Bafana as he scored his second goal of the evening in the 3 added minutes of the first half to make sure they had control of the game. The first half ended 2:1 for the visiting team.
However, The Bright Stars had to play the entire second half without the team captain, Peter Maker, after he was injured in the 47th minute and replaced by Benjamin Loku, who perfectly fitted in the Bright Stars’ defense.
In the 56 minutes of the second half, the Bright Star fought hard and got an equalizer through Valentino Yuel Kauch from a well-taken set piece by Joseph Malish Manse in the 56th minute of the game. It looked to settle for the first home point in Juba Stadium in the 2025 AFCON Qualifiers to be hosted by Morocco.
In the absence of Chol Peter Bentiu, Coach Nicholas Dupuis opted to fill in Joseph Malish Manse alongside Gama William who came in for his injured colleague. The pair worked out well for the remainder of the game, though Manse was lucky to have the entire game played without a yellow card after making a couple of mistakes.
During the game, South Sudan goalkeeper Majak Maling Mawaith put in spirited performances by making a couple of saves either half, with the decisive one coming in the 77 minutes as he denied Oswin Reagan Appollis his hat trick opportunity and pouched the ball wide for a corner.
Knowing very well their opponent Uganda Cranes won 2:0 against Congo Brazzaville at Nambool Stadium on Monday evening, the Banfana Banfana kept pressuring The Bright Stars and subsequently got the winning goal from a corner kick through their midfielder Aubrey Maphosa Modiba in the second minute of the 6 additional minutes after normal time as coach Hugo Broos secured their victory of the 2025 AFCON Qualifiers at the expenses of the Bright Star.
This is the second defeat for the Bright Stars in a space of one week after losing to Congo Brazzaville last week by 1:0.
With the defeat, the Bright Stars remain winless and bottom of Group K group after two matches, and their next fixture is against Uganda Cranes in Nambool in October.
Both Uganda Cranes and South Africa have four points. However Uganda has a superior goal difference against the Banfana Banfan, and they lead the table followed by Congo Brazzaville with 3 points in the third position.