Forwards Thamsanqa Gabuza and Keagan Dolly each scored twice against Gambia as South Africa secured their first in Group M in Bakau on Saturday.

The victory has only reignited the South Africans chances of going through as one of the best runner-ups after Cameroon wrapped up the group’s automatic slot after a lone goal victory over Mauritania on Friday in Nouakchott.

Bafana Bafana’s first win took their tally to six points, five poorer than Cameroon and one shy of Mauritania ahead of the final round of matches in September. Gambia, still without a win has just two points from five games.

Gambia’s Bubacarr Trawally was presented the first really opening of the game in the first minute but headed over the bar with only the goal to beat.

Gabuza broke the deadlock after the half-hour mark firing in Dolly’s first time pass from the left beyond a hapless Alagie Nyabally in the Gambia goal.

The two players linked up again five minutes before the break this time Gabuza placing his right footed shot into the roof of Nyabally’s goal.

The Gambian defence failed to clear their lines on the stroke of half time which gave room for substitute Sibusiso Vilakazi to strike at goal forcing the busy Nyabally to make a smart save.

China-based Trawally had Gambia’s best opportunity four minutes after the break dribbling Bafana defender Rivaldo Coetzee but he was denied by the confident Itumeleng Khune in post.

South Africa’s Olympic captain Dolly scored his first senior goal on the 55th minute with a sublime screamer outside the Scorpions area which beat the outstretched Nyabally.

Dolly capped off his man-of-the-match performance with another cracking effort from a distance which went in off the post before nestling in for South Africa’s fourth goal which was applauded by the home supporters twelve minutes for time.

Reactions

Sang Ndong (Head Coach, Gambia)

My reactions is like anyone else, we’re all disappointed because the result and performance were both negative. We were outplayed and outclassed today. We played against a superior team and we were asked a lot of questions that we couldn’t answer. Look at the levels, comparing both teams South Africa is a bigger team but yet we could’ve done better.

We got our aims and objectives since Day One. Our objective is to rebuild, rebrand and to try and integrate this national team back with the public.

Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba (Head Coach, South Africa)

Gambian played well but our performance here was based on our first game against them in Durban last year. They never played like today. That’s why we were so confident that it was going to be a good game. They won’t sit back at home, they have to come out of that box and when they came out they got punished. We have two fast players on the flanks and two strong central defenders which helped us in this game. My job was never in danger. It was the press that was putting pressure not my bosses.

Source: Confederation of African Football.