Bafana Bafana seem to peak at the right time before the World Cup finals kick off as they defeated 34th world-ranked Colombia 2-1 at the new Soccer City in front of a capacity crowd on Thursday night.

It was the first time that Bafana had played at the new multi-billion rand stadium where they face Mexico in the opening World Cup Group A clash on June 11, and they sent their fans home happy. They are now unbeaten in 10 matches under head coach Carlos Alberto Parreira.

All three goals came from the penalty spot.

Bafana had a case of stage fright in the first half. They struggled to get going against a side that showed they were not in Johannesburg for a holiday. Colombia showed why they a world top-40 side with a no nonsense display, and a particuarlly bruising opening 45 minutes.

But this was just the sort of match Bafana needed to get used to the style of play that they will come up against when they play Mexico in the opening World Cup Group A match. The two South American sides play a similar style.

The biggest surprise for the 75 000 crowd was the fact Parreira did not start with his star midfield player Steven Pienaar, who stayed on the bench until the start of the second half. The fans roared their approval when Pienaar came on at the start of the second half.

If ever a game cried out for Pienaar and a player of his class to take control of the midfield, this was it. The Bafana midfield was rudderless in the opening 45 minutes and lacked the fluency of Monday night where they more than held their own in a 1-1 draw against Bulgaria at the Orlando Stadium.

Bafana goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune was injured in the ninth minute when he bravely went for a 50-50 ball with Colombia striker Jackson Martinez.

The match was stopped for five minutes while Khune received medical attention.

Bafana were awarded their first penalty by Kenyan referee Langat Samwel Kipngetich in the 15th minute after he adjudged defender Cristian Zapata to have handled the ball inside his penalty area.

Colombia keeper David Ospina saved Teko Modise’s first penalty but his linesman spotted that Ospina had moved in what looked a bit harsh on the Colombian keeper. Modise succeeded with his second attempt to put the home side 1-0 ahead.

However, Bafana were hit by a sucker punch five minutes later when Khune gave away a penalty and was booked for bringing down Adrian Ramos. Giovanni Moreno blasted home the equaliser from the penalty spot.

Bafana midfielder Reneilwe Letsholonyane forced Ospina to turn his low, hard ground shot for a corner on 24 minutes. Then three minutes later the Colombian keeper denied Modise a goal with another good save.

Colombia lost midfielder Fredy Guarin who was injured in the 31st minute of the no-quarter-asked-nor-given first period and was replaced by Valencia.

Valencia came close to snatching the lead but his 37th minute free kick screamed past the woodwork.

Ospina did well again in the 42nd minute when he stopped another Modise shot. But Khune came to Bafana’s rescue in injury time when Martinez waltzed through the bemused Bafana defence, with the keeper holding his nerve to clear the danger.

Khune was replaced by Moeneeb Josephs at the start of the second half.

The rough Colombians paid the penalty again in the 58th minute when Katlego Mphela made it 2-1 from the penalty spot after defender Mario Yepes fouled Tshabalala.

The 75 000 home fans greeted the arrival of start striker Benni McCarthy with a huge roar in the 64th minute when he replaced the ineffective Surprise Moriri.

Bafana settled after taking the lead with Pienaar taking control of the midfield.

Josephs pulled off three great saves late in the match. He did well to fist away a dangerous, swirling free kick from substitute Camilo Zuniga in the 81st minute. Then he pulled off a stunning save from another well-struck free kick this time from another substitute Hugo Rodallega in the 90th minute.

He left the best for last when he palmed a Rodallega 20-metre thunderbolt for a corner deep into injury time as the never-say-die Colombians fought until the bitter end.

The Bafana World Cup road show moves to Polokwane on Monday night where the South Africans host Guatemala in their penultimate warm-up clash at the new Peter Mokaba Stadium.

Source + Pic: supersport.co.za