Wanted: a goal from Bafana striker against Eritrea

As the two goals that saw Bafana Bafana beat Guinea 2-1 in their opening match of the qualifiers for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) at Orlando Amstel Arena on Saturday were scored by defenders, the national team’s strike force has now come under scrutiny.

Mamelodi Sundowns’ Iqraam Rayners, who boasts four goals in 19 games for Bafana, spearheaded the attack in coach Pitso Mosimane’s first game of his second stint as the national team coach. Rayners was replaced by Orlando Pirates’ Yanela Mbuthuma in the 68th minute. It was Mbuthuma’s second game in a Bafana shirt.

It remains to be seen whether Mosimane will persist with Rayners up front when Bafana face less-fancied Eritrea at Cairo’s Al-Salam Stadium tomorrow (6pm SA time).

Rayners and Mbuthuma are the only traditional strikers in the current Bafana camp, with two of the strikers in Lyle Foster and Evidence Makgopa, who were the main men for Mosimane’s predecessor Hugo Broos, excluded.

Makgopa, who has six goals from 30 national team appearances, is recovering from a knee injury he sustained after the recent World Cup, while Foster, who’s the last Bafana striker to score a goal, has just been transferred from English second-tier side Burnley to US Major League Soccer (MLS) outfit Houston Dynamo.

Bafana have now gone five matches without seeing a goal from a striker, with the last one coming from Foster in a pre-World Cup friendly that was played behind closed doors against Jamaica in Mexico early in June, which ended 1-all.

Centre-back Ime Okon and left-back Samukele Kabini were on target against Guinea over the weekend. Mosimane admitted he had limited options as far as the strikers are concerned.

“Let’s stack these players as I tell you. Let’s have three left-backs, three right-backs, five centre-backs, five midfielders. I cannot say that with the strikers… I don’t really have that much in terms of experience,” Mosimane said.