South Africa line-up: Khune, Gaxa, Mokoena (c), Tshabalala, Mphela, Pienaar (Parker, 83'), Modise, Letsholonyane, Dikgacoi, Thwala (Masilela,HT), Khumalo.
Mexico line-up: Perez, Rodriguez, Salcido, Marquez, Osorio, Torrado (c), Franco (Hernandez, 73'), Vela (Blanco, 69'), Aguilar (Guardado, 55'), Juarez, Dos Santos.
The first half was lit up by Giovani Dos Santos, he was superb all half. He terrorised Gaxa and Mokoena with his quick feet and decent skill. Had some good shots which brought Khune into the spotlight and he pulled off some very good saves. Aguilar was a very good outlet at right-back, linking with Dos Santos as no-one picked him up. This allowed him to enter South Africa's half as he pleased and also showed pace and quick feet which produced some very good crosses. Mexico had a goal disallowed for offside against Vela which was rightly given. The Uzbekistan officials had a very good game and served up some very good decision making. South Africa's chances were limited in the first half and were lucky to find themselves level at half time.
The second produced a much more conservative performance from the Bafana Bafana which heightened the crowd's mood. However their defence still seemed to lack collectivity as Mexico still broke through with no avail. A very good counter-attacking move by South Africa brought about a one-on-one situation between Tshabalala and Perez (who looked rather suspect throughout the match) in the 55th minute provided the first goal. Tshabalala blasted the ball from a tight-ish angle with a cool which could potentially be goal of the tournament already. South Africa held their own until the 79th minute where another teasing cross from substitute Guardado wasn't dealt with by the South African defence; Javier Hernandez missed the ball with his head and Rafael Marquez was on hand to put Mexico level. Both teams then looked to grab a winner with the closest coming yet another well put together move which culminated in Mphela hitting the post.
Both teams had good spells and played some good passing moves which lacked finishes. Mexico's best player without doubt had to Giovani Dos Santos who caused the South African defence problems all game long. Problems for Mexico are that they are very vulnerable to counter-attacks; they are an extremely attacking side with their defenders even making attacking runs and South Africa did manage to take advantage of this. The other has to be their goalkeeper Perez, he looked very suspect with crosses as he dropped a few as well as long shots. Advice for Uruguay and France would be to load the box with crosses and shoot on site to see how many Perez deals with sufficiently.
As for South Africa they looked a very tidy team, apart from their defence which really needs to tighten up. If it wasn't for Khune's brilliance between the sticks, South Africa could have been thrashed. However the likes of Tshabalala and Mphela can make a good name for themselves if they keep up the good performances and get among the goals.
Mexico line-up: Perez, Rodriguez, Salcido, Marquez, Osorio, Torrado (c), Franco (Hernandez, 73'), Vela (Blanco, 69'), Aguilar (Guardado, 55'), Juarez, Dos Santos.
The first half was lit up by Giovani Dos Santos, he was superb all half. He terrorised Gaxa and Mokoena with his quick feet and decent skill. Had some good shots which brought Khune into the spotlight and he pulled off some very good saves. Aguilar was a very good outlet at right-back, linking with Dos Santos as no-one picked him up. This allowed him to enter South Africa's half as he pleased and also showed pace and quick feet which produced some very good crosses. Mexico had a goal disallowed for offside against Vela which was rightly given. The Uzbekistan officials had a very good game and served up some very good decision making. South Africa's chances were limited in the first half and were lucky to find themselves level at half time.
The second produced a much more conservative performance from the Bafana Bafana which heightened the crowd's mood. However their defence still seemed to lack collectivity as Mexico still broke through with no avail. A very good counter-attacking move by South Africa brought about a one-on-one situation between Tshabalala and Perez (who looked rather suspect throughout the match) in the 55th minute provided the first goal. Tshabalala blasted the ball from a tight-ish angle with a cool which could potentially be goal of the tournament already. South Africa held their own until the 79th minute where another teasing cross from substitute Guardado wasn't dealt with by the South African defence; Javier Hernandez missed the ball with his head and Rafael Marquez was on hand to put Mexico level. Both teams then looked to grab a winner with the closest coming yet another well put together move which culminated in Mphela hitting the post.
Both teams had good spells and played some good passing moves which lacked finishes. Mexico's best player without doubt had to Giovani Dos Santos who caused the South African defence problems all game long. Problems for Mexico are that they are very vulnerable to counter-attacks; they are an extremely attacking side with their defenders even making attacking runs and South Africa did manage to take advantage of this. The other has to be their goalkeeper Perez, he looked very suspect with crosses as he dropped a few as well as long shots. Advice for Uruguay and France would be to load the box with crosses and shoot on site to see how many Perez deals with sufficiently.
As for South Africa they looked a very tidy team, apart from their defence which really needs to tighten up. If it wasn't for Khune's brilliance between the sticks, South Africa could have been thrashed. However the likes of Tshabalala and Mphela can make a good name for themselves if they keep up the good performances and get among the goals.
No comments:
Post a Comment