Lyle Foster scores late as South Africa beat Angola 2-1 in their AFCON opener, ending a 21-year drought
Burnley striker Lyle Foster scored late as South Africa defeated Angola 2-1 on Monday in their Africa Cup of Nations opener.
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The victory marked Bafana Bafana’s first opening-match win in 21 years at the tournament.
South Africa last won an AFCON opening fixture in 2004, when they beat Benin.
Since then, they had drawn twice and lost four opening matches.
The Group B encounter unfolded in three phases before a sparse crowd in the near 42,000-seat stadium.
South Africa started brightly and took the lead after 21 minutes through Oswin Appollis.
Angola dominated much of the first half and deservedly equalised through Show after 35 minutes.
Bafana Bafana regrouped after the break and finished stronger.
Foster struck the winner in the 79th minute to secure maximum points.
Earlier, South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams made key saves to deny Fredy Ribeiro and Gelson Dala.
Appollis opened the scoring after pouncing on a Khuliso Mudau cross and beating veteran goalkeeper Hugo Marques.
Angola’s pressure paid off when Show converted a low free-kick into the corner.
Tempers flared before half-time, with cautions issued to players from both sides.
South Africa briefly thought they had retaken the lead early in the second half.
However, VAR ruled out Tshepang Moremi’s goal for offside against Foster.
Bafana continued to press, with Mbekezeli Mbokazi hitting the crossbar from range.
Foster missed one clear chance before redeeming himself late on.
He fired home from the edge of the box after a swift counterattack.
The goal was his fourth in six matches for South Africa.
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In the same group, Egypt, led by Mohamed Salah, face Zimbabwe later in Agadir.
David Okere is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering business, governance, public affairs, and human-interest stories with a commitment to accuracy, balance, and public interest reporting.
