Lekoelea hails Khune’s efforts

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Itumeleng Khune of South Africa during the 2015 Nelson Mandela Challenge football match between South Africa and Senegal at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa on 08 September, 2015 ©Gavin Barker/BackpagePix
  • Post published:August 11, 2016

Former Bafana Bafana forward Steve Lekoelea is convinced that goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune was South Africa’s best performer in the Iraq stalemate. 

Owen da Gama’s side fell short of qualifying for the next stage of the tournament as they were unable to get past Iraq, eventually drawing the game 1-1. The draw saw the side knocked out of the tournament as it followed an impressive draw against Brazil and a narrow defeat to Denmark.

Lekoelea has defended the performance of the team but has also insisted that Itumeleng Khune’s goalkeeping was crucial for the side.

‘I think they played very well,’ he told SoccerLaduma.

‘Khune was amazing. We could have lost 3-1, but Khune was amazing. He was my Man of the Match.’

Lekoelea was part of the South African side that competed in the Sydney Olympics back in 2000. The former star did not mince his words when asked do diagnose the problem with the class of 2016, however.

‘The finishing was poor, especially from [Gift] Motupa,’ he commented.

‘The finishing was poor, but they played very well. They played like it was a cup game and I was shocked that they lost,’ he concluded.

South African managed just a single goal throughout their Rio 2016 campaign.