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Siyabonga Sangweni of South Africa celebrates goal during the 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations Finals football match between South Africa and Angola at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban on 23 January 2013 �Gavin Barker/BackpagePix
Siyabonga Sangweni told his Bafana Bafana teammates before last night’s 2-0 win over Angola that he would score in Durban.
“I don’t know what it is about this stadium, and that net especially, but I knew I would score,” the central defender smiled last night after scoring his third goal (two for Orlando Pirates) at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
“It’s not even muti or anything. I just feel like I will score whenever I play here,” he added, after his 30th minute opener laid the foundation for South Africa’s opening win of the African Cup of Nations.
Sangweni’s left-foot strike capped a fine display alongside skipper Bongani Khumalo in defence, as the pair snuffed out the threat posed by the Angolan beanpole, Manucho.
“I enjoy playing with Bongani – he stays cool. Hopefully we can keep working on the understanding and play together for a long time,” Sangweni added.
After a lacklustre opener against Cape Verde, coach Gordon Igesund rang the changes, with a big emphasis on taking the game to an Angola team that was more interested in arguing with the officials. Striker Katlego Mphela, looking sharper by the day, said playing with that many attacking options could only do the team good.
“You could see that we played with more confidence, and I’m happy for other guys to play off me and cause problems,” Mphela said.
The man dubbed “Killer” also brushed off concerns that he was yet to open his account in the tournament.
“Ag, I don’t care if I don’t score the whole tournament if we keep on winning. The most important thing is the team, and we played well. Hopefully we can build on this.”
Buoyed by a partisan Durban crowd, Mphela said he hoped to stay in “South Africa’s playground” for as long as possible.
“Durban is where we get our honey and milk. They got behind us from the first minute and really lifted us. I hope we stay here for a long time,” he added, on a night when the smile returned to South African football.
