International Friendly

Result: Bafana Bafana (Tau 90+3') 1-1 (Santander 32') Paraguay 

Date: 20 November 2018

Venue: Moses Mabhida Stadium

Percy Tau scored with the final kick of the game to earn Bafana Bafana a 1-1 draw against Paraguay in the Nelson Mandela Challenge on Tuesday evening.

Stuart Baxter made wholesale changes from their match with Nigeria over the weekend with the likes of Vincent Pule, Ramahlwe Mphahlele, Teboho Mokwena and Innocent Maela getting starts.

However, the hosts were lucky not to be 1-0 down in the 16th minute after Federico Santander beat the offside trap to go one-on-one with goalkeeper Darren Keet but the Paraguayan’s low shot came off the bottom post with the net gaping.

Percy Tau had the first real chance for Bafana in the 26th minute after finding space in the the box but his side-footed shot into the bottom corner did not have enough power to beat goalkeeper Antony Silva.

Santander eventually broke the deadlock for Paraguay in the 32nd minute with a simple tap in inside the box after Cecilio Dominguez’s low strike from the left side was parried into his path by Keet.

Pule should have brought Bafana level in the 36th minute after going through on the left side of the box but his powerful left footed diagonal strike was saved brilliantly by Silva.

Dominguez came close to making it 2-0 for La Albirroja six minutes before the break creating space by slaloming past his marker and unleashed a left footed strike that rattled the near post, as the South Americans took a slender lead into the break.

There were numerous changes for both sides at the beginning of the second stanza which affected the flow of the game in the opening 15 minutes.

Thulani Hlatshwayo almost brought Bafana back into the game in the 62nd minute with a powerful diving header at the near post that sailed wide of the mark.

Baxter’s men were on the back foot 20 minutes before time, with Paraguay penetrating their high placed defence on counter-attacks.

Vincent Pule got close to finding the equaliser for Baxter’s men 12 minutes before time after pulling the trigger from outside the box, but Silva got under his strike.

The visitors were holding on to their 1-0 lead in the last five minutes, while the hosts threw everything forward in search of an equaliser.

Tau snatched the equaliser for Bafana deep in stoppage time with a composed finish after latching onto a fine pass from Thulani Serero.

Tau's strike was the last kick of the game, ensuring that the game ended in an entertaining draw.

Here's how they lined up:

Bafana: Keet (Williams 46'), Madisha (Mkhwanazi 46'), Hlatshwayo, Maela, Mphahlele, Maboe, Mabunda (Makaring 46'), Mokoena, Pule, Mothiba (Ndlovu 46'), Tau.