WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
Cape Verde killed us, says Stuart Baxter
Bafana Bafana’s World Cup campaign was lost in their defeats against Cape Verde‚ which ensured the South Africans went into Friday night’s qualifier against Senegal with a knife at their throats‚ Stuart Baxter has said. In the penultimate Group D qualifier for Russia 2018 at Peter Mokaba Stadium, it was clear SA was the team under pressure. With a point needed and aware they could still gain it in the return game in Dakar on Tuesday‚ Senegal could be as cool as a mountain breeze. Bafana conceded a nervy opener to Diafra Sakho in the the 13th minute‚ then played some scintillating football but could not relax in front of goal‚ as Themba Zwane forced a save and Lebogang Manyama hit the upright. In the 38th minute it was all but over at 2-0 from Thamsanqa Mkhize’s desperately unfortunate own goal. And desperation was the theme for Bafana. Their crippling back-to-back defeats against Cape Verde in September and the rebound 3-1 home win against Burkina Faso in October had left them needi...
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