Bafana played with pure passion and with a bit of luck could easily have beaten their opponents on the night. Could this be signs of good things to come in the World Cup? Bafana had the upper hand for most of the first half, knocking the ball around to the deafening sounds of vuvuzelas. The home side went on the attack first, but although Bulgaria looked to soak up the pressure they were finding it hard to cope with the high pace of the game. Bafana captain Teko Modise really made it hard for the Bulgarian goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov, who made a good save from Modise's powerful shot. This was one of Modise's best matches so far.
After all the pressure, Bafana were finally rewarded when 20-year-old Siyabonga Sangweni headed home Tshabalala's free kick in the 20th minute. It was the defender's first goal for his country and might seal his place in the World Cup squad being announced on 1 June.
The goal, however, woke up the Bulgarian attack. Bafana keeper Itumeleng Khune was first called into action in the 24th minute when he comfortably dealt with a well-hit shot from Bulgarian attacker Ivelin Popov. It wasn't long before former Manchester City and now Parma striker Ivelin Bojinov dropped behind the South African defence to score the equaliser.
This was a lesson learnt, though, for Bafana, who were a bit over-confident being one goal up, but all-in-all a brilliant performance.
