Czech Republic and South Africa knockout hopes take major hit after battling draw

Kicking off the second round of group stage matches of this WC were two sides who had disappointed in their openers, but it was clear which of those were keener to set the record straight.

Not letting Patrik Schick’s early botched header get to them, Repre continued the Czech onslaught and they were rewarded just over five minutes in when Adam Hložek hooked it back from the byline to Alexandr Sojka, who cleverly touched it forward for Michal Sadílek to bury it into the South African net.

Missing two key players after a pair of red cards collected against Mexico in the tournament’s curtain-raiser, the 2010 hosts had looked well off the pace, but they gradually steadied the ship and started to hoard possession.

Unfortunately, that dominance of the ball didn’t translate to chances, and Bafana Bafana also had trouble with the Czech’s press leading into half time.

And the European side tried to replicate their first-half heroics right after the restart, with Vladimir Darida’s shot blocked by Ime Okon before Schick headed straight at Ronwen Williams.

Evidence Makgopa did eventually register a shot on target for South Africa with 20 minutes remaining, but it couldn’t have been an easier save for Matej Kovar.

Bafana Bafana used that chance to increase their momentum, though, and a promising spell came to a climax when they were awarded a penalty after Pavel Sulc was adjudged to have blocked a shot with his hand.

Teboho Mokoena, who had been speculatively firing from distance all game, only had 12 yards to hit it from this time, and he again put his laces through it to find the bottom left corner.

Hopes of building on that were quickly stopped by Czech Republic, who also failed to snatch a winner despite Lukas Provod firing just wide of the mark.

There was a feeling that both sides had sabotaged each other’s hopes at the final whistle, with the result meaning that only wins next Wednesday will provide a chance of going through to the knockouts. 

Achieving that goal would be a first for South Africa in their four WC participations, while Czech Republic haven’t managed that either since they entered the finals as an independent nation.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Teboho Mokoena (South Africa)

See a summary of the match here