Bafana Bafana have beaten Congo-Brazzaville 2-0 to go top of Group A on seven points, one ahead of Congo in second place.

“The trip to Congo was good,” reflects Kaizer Chiefs defender Eric ‘Tower’ Mathoho. “There were no issues to complain about. The Congolese welcomed us with a warning to beat us 2–0. The opposite turned out to be. They also mocked us to have short players compared to theirs. We arrived on Thursday afternoon to an overcast weather. It brightened up a bit on match day. We trained on the match pitch on Friday. Most of us are not used to an artificial pitch but we trained on one during our preparations in Rustenburg.”

Two early second half strikes by Bongani Ndulula and Tokelo Rantie put Bafana Bafana in a good position to qualify for the 2015 AFCON in Morocco.

“The game went well,” continues Mathoho. “For the first 20 minutes they were throwing everything at us. But we did well to absorb the pressure.”

Mathoho’s partner in the centre of defence was 17-years-old Ajax Cape Town’s Rivaldo Coetzee, who was flawless on debut.

Mathoho reflects on the partnership: “Coetzee defended excellently. And, despite this being the first time we played together, we communicated nicely with each other and we were able to do the job. It was not bad at all, we combined well on the day.”

About the mood in the camp following the win, Mathoho adds: “We were all happy. We bargained for a draw, but got the three points. Even more important was that we got these points away from home. The win has skyrocketed the spirit in the camp.”

Bafana now head back to South Africa for a home tie against Congo at Polokwane’s Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday night.

Mathoho looks ahead of the return match in his home province of Polokwane: “I am looking forward to a tough game. They will be coming for a win. We will not allow that, especially playing at home. We are ready and it is up to us to push forward. The crowd will be ours now, and for me it will be an honour if I am selected to play in front of my home support.”

Congo: Massa, Moubhibo, Bissiki, F N’Ganga, I Nganga, Oniangue, Gandze (Koubemba 46’), Ndinga (Douniama 63’), Dore, Litsingi, Bifouma

SA: Meyiwa, Hlatshwayo, Coetzee, Mathoho, Matlaba, Masango, Furman, Jali, Masango (Letsholonyane 78’), Serero, Rantie (Erasmus 72’), Ndulula (Vilakazi 64’)