Oswin Appollis struck a late penalty to seal a dramatic 3-2 win for South Africa over Zimbabwe on matchday three of the Africa Cup of Nations AFCON group stage, a result that confirmed Bafana Bafanas progression to the round of 16 as Group B runners-up and condemned the Warriors to elimination, Softfootball reports.
Coming into the decisive clash off the back of a narrow 1-0 defeat to Egypt , South Africa knew only a positive result would guarantee their place in the knockouts. With qualification also on the line for Zimbabwe, the contest burst into life early on as Hugo Broos men made a flying start.
Bafana Bafana raced into a seventh-minute lead when Tshepang Moremi found the net, just moments after Appollis had forced Washington Arubi into a sharp save. Moremis effort took a wicked deflection that wrong-footed the Zimbabwe goalkeeper, marking the second time South Africa have scored the opening goal at this years tournament.
