While Bafana Bafana dominated the Confederations opener against Asian champs, Iraq, they made the opposing goalie look good. That Bafana dominated the opposing minnows is no surprise - that the minnows held the boys to a draw is, once again, disappointing.
There were several minor breakthroughs, and certainly in the highlights package, the breakthroughs were often little more than simply reaching territory close to the goal. There were flashes of flair, but very little follow through and finishing off. Bafana looked like a side filled with nervous players playing to keep their place in the squad, rather than a side saying, HERE WE ARE SO WATCH OUT WORLD.
Substitute Katlego Mashego and Kagisho Dikgacoi produced the best chance and lowest point, as the ball wobbled towards the goal and heat the back of a Bafana's leg and wobbled back out again. Modise also fluffed a golden opportunity as teammates streaked into open space and rather than passing, Modise fell over his own feet.
One of the most effective campaigns in the match was Coca Colas advertising. I ended up dispatching my girlfriend to buy some, and glugging down half a litres - hoping I'd get some 'happiness' for these efforts, since the boys in yellow and green weren't delivering. The campaign went into irritating overdrive in the highlights package where you see red monkey arms dropping a red coke signs into the right corner of the screen, yanking it up, and repeating, ad delirium.
So... much tentativeness and not much inspiration. After the match Santana said several times that 'Bafana were very good'. Like a young bachelor who is too shy to kiss the prom queen, if you go home empty handed there can't be much to crow about. Bafana, having drawn but not lost, might say, at least we didn't get smacked in the face. The crowd may feel the game wasn't worth the price of admission. As a television viewer, it was hard to feel otherwise.
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