South Africa stretch unbeaten run
Reuters - Monday 24 May 2010, 21:02
JOHANNESBURG - World Cup hosts South
Africa stretched their unbeaten run to nine games since the
return of coach Carlos Alberto Parreira with a 1-1 draw against
Bulgaria in a friendly international on Monday.
South Africa took a 20th-minute lead in front of some 30,000
fans at the Orlando Stadium when defender Siyabonga Sangweni
headed home a corner unmarked at the back post.
Bulgaria levelled the score through Italian-based striker
Valeri Bojinov 11 minutes later.
GEAR: Check out South Africa's kits
A defensive lapse cost the home side a third successive win
but Parreira, who returned as coach last November, continued to
experiment with the side, starting with only locally-based
players and bringing on his more established names after the
interval.
But Bulgaria proved much stouter opponents than South
Africa's last two matches against Jamaica and Thailand and
limited the home side to a handful of scoring chances.
South Africa continue their build up to the start of the
World Cup on June 11 with a match against Colombia at
Johannesburg's Soccer City on Thursday.
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