Bafana Bafana will go back to the drawing board after walking away from the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday with just a point.

It was a frustrating afternoon for Stuart Baxter and his troops as South Africa played out to a goalless draw with Libya in their second match of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.

Bafana Bafana and the Mediterranean Knights resumed their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier as they met for the first time in a wet pitch at the Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium.

 

Both Bafana Bafana and the North Africans opened their campaigns with wins, and they were keen to grab the early ascendency on their road to Cameroon.

Meanwhile, coach Stuart Baxter had a point to prove after failing to steer the national team to the 2018 Fifa World Cup and he named a strong side despite their preparations being hampered by injuries.

Baxter put his trust in Percy Tau, who returned to SA for the first time since completing his move to English side Brighton & Hove Albion where he was eventually loaned out to Belgium, while Orlando Pirates attacker Vincent Pule was handed his debut.

While not much was known about the Libyans, what was expected was a typical North African display and that showed in their organisation as they set back early on and allowed Bafana to come at them.

 

Dean Furman had the home side’s first opportunity, thanks to some ingenuity as his chipped effort flew just over the bar.

However, it was Itumeleng Khune, who was first to be tested.

Libyan winger Alshadi took advantage of some sloppy defending before firing a shot at the Bafana goal which was superbly kept out by Khune at his near post.

Although, Bafana were enjoying the bulk of possession, they were lucky to escape the first 20 minutes of the game unscathed as Libyan attacker Anis Saltou hit the upright following a well-worked move.

Khune had a busy afternoon as he single-handedly kept Bafana in the game. The Kaizer Chiefs shot stopper made a fantastic block to deny Libyan midfielder Ali Mohammed from outside the box before once again thwarting the opposition attack minutes later.

 

While Bafana were moving the ball around nicely the lack of an out-and-out striker was apparent, and Baxter unsurprisingly brought on Bradley Grobler for Pule at the start of the second half.

The move injected new life into the Bafana attack, who looked sharper and was playing with a lot more purpose.

But with an hour played, Bafana continued to struggle in their effort to test the Libyan keeper as the game became a cagier affair.

The clash though, began to open up and South Africa were pushing men forward and looked to exploit the pace of Tau and Keagan Dolly going forward.

Libya on the other hand, looked dangerous down the wings and were cutting into the Bafana defence with ease.

Bafana’s lacklustre approach in midfield was also not helping their cause as they looked devoid of ideas – Libya kept their opponents on the backfoot with time running.

 

Baxter’s men did have a good opportunity with 15 minutes to go as Dolly cut inside, but he could not find the target in what was his brightest moment of the game until that point.

With time running out, the Bafana technical team threw on Aubrey Modiba in an effort to ignite some much-needed creativity into their attack.

Grobler had a chance steal victory but it was not to be as his header went well off target following a delightful Sifiso Hlanti cross and Bafana played out to a disappointing draw.