Bafana Bafana lost 3 – 0 to Iceland on Tuesday night, bringing the South African team’s tally to eight games lost out of nine.

This game had a great deal riding on it from Bafana coach Joel Santana’s perspective, with his side being closely watched and his job on the line if results did not turn around drastically.

In the early stages of the match Macbeth Sibaya had a good shot on goal from distance, but despite an awkward bounce the goalkeeper collected the ball.

The stadium was virtually empty, with the players on the pitch more audible than the few supporters in the crowd on a very cold night in Iceland. The South Africans had a desperate look about them, with every counter attack and scoring opportunity having extra pressure attached to it after so many bad results in the last few months.

Iceland’s first real opportunity came after twenty minutes, when a long throw was flicked dangerously into the area, but Bafana stopper Moeneeb Josephs did well to catch the ball.

After the Norwegian setback on the weekend, Santana was really feeling the pressure, as he quietly sat and watched his side struggle to put away a number of chances that were created as a result of good passing.

The first half ended goalless, but Iceland would point a goal on the score sheet soon after the restart, with Veigar Pall Gunnarson making it 1-0 for Iceland in the 50th minute. The goal was a shock for Bafana, as it came against the run of play.

The game lacked quality on both ends of the pitch, as South Africa played without a great deal of confidence, while Iceland showed little creativity going forward.

The 96th ranked Iceland were cruising towards a rare win, and South Africa could do little to stop them with their attack looking terribly pedestrian.

As time went on in the second half South Africa played more positively, with a nothing-to-lose attitude giving them more confidence, but it was a case of too little too late, and after the 90 minutes were up Iceland claimed a 1-0 win over a disappointing Bafana team.

Source: goal.com

Pic: supersport.co.za