Ted gutted at Bafana's exit

2006-01-31 07:08

Samm Audu

Alexandria - Zambia defeated South Africa 1-0 in a dour African Nations Cup Group C match played at the Alexandria Stadium on Monday night.

Christopher Katongo grabbed the only goal of this lacklustre encounter after 75 minutes when he slid the ball home from inside the six-yard box off a low cross from the right wing.

South Africa, champions ten years ago on home soil, thus finished pointless and bottom of their first round group after they lost all three matches and failed to find the back of the net throughout this championship.

Bafana rested several key stars including Benedict McCarthy and Sibusiso Zuma while Zambia fielded their strongest side in a game that was really a mere formality after both teams were eliminated from the competition having lost their first two games.

The Egypt game was the turning point

South Africa coach Ted Dumitru said he was disappointed that his team failed to go beyond the first stage of the tournament.

"We are disappointed that with our abundance of talent and dynamic approach to the game, we could not go further in the competition," he said.

"The turning point for us was when we beat Egypt in a friendly match just before the competition started and since then, we did not produce the result we were expecting."

His Zambian counterpart, Kalusha Bwalya, on the other hand, turned down calls for him to quit after his team also crashed out in the first round.

"I believe talk for my resignation is off the mark. This is my first Nations Cup as a coach and it certainly won't be my last," said the former international skipper.

"This team has made great progress since 2003. We deserve better from this tournament but were unlucky but I see many of these players featuring in many more Nations Cups."

First real chance in the seventh minute

South Africa looked the more likely team to go in front when they went into attack straight from kick off and carved out the first real chance in the seventh minute but Daniel Tshabalala's header inside the box failed to trouble goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene.

In between the Bafana's sustained pressure skipper Elijah Tana's 12th minute header off a corner from the right flank came off the crossbar.

Striker Katlego Mphela was in the 22nd minute denied by a timely tackle inside the box as South Africa continued to pile more pressure to break down the Zambian resistance in a rather scrappy contest.

On 32 minutes Zambia came close to opening their own goals account when Collins Mbesuma's audacious backheel off a cross by Christopher Katongo missed the target narrowly.

Nothing from a goalmouth scramble

Five minutes later Bafana would have gone in front after Mweene failed to hold the ball from an inswinger but again nothing came out of the ensuing goalmouth scramble.

Zambia responded almost immediately when Tana powered home a free kick from outside the box after Portsmouth striker Mbesuma, now a constant menace to the Bafana backline, was brought down but the effort was palmed out for a corner as the Chipolopolo began to show they too can attack.

In time added on in the first half, hard running Siphiwe Tshabalala delivered a low cross across the Zambian goal but Mphela was late to make any connection as the ball screamed out into touch.

Nomvethe's shot in the 48th minute from outside the box did not miss by much as Bafana continued to press for the first goal.

However, soon after the Katongo brothers combined to almost put Zambia ahead, Felix crossed but his brother Christopher could not direct his header on target.

Zambia appeared to have taken the attacking initiative from their opponents and in the 60th minute Sinkala's well-placed shot was held by Marlin. They continued to stay on the attack till they were rewarded 15 minutes from the end.

- AFP