Mofokeng leads Bafana to victory against Lesotho

COMETH the hour, cometh the man! Well, at 20 years of age, he is not a fully-fledged man yet. But in football terms, Relebohile Mofokeng has earned the respect to be called a man alright. His showings for Orlando Pirates this season has set him up as one of the campaign's shining stars.

- MATSHELANE MAMABOLO

At national team level he had shown potential as coach Hugo Broos carefully introduced him as a substitute. The South African football public had been calling for the youngster to be thrown into the deep end, “give him a start”, they cried. Broos obliged them.

And Rele did not disappoint. The sold-out Peter Mokaba Stadium reverberated to drum beats and songs while glittering to cellphone lights, the “president of Ama2000” reigned supreme. For almost an hour, Lesotho stubbornly held the dominant Bafana at bay. And it took Mofokeng's sweetly struck shot from close range to break that resistance after a superb solo and persistent run from the right flank by Elias Mokwana prised Likoena's rearguard open.