Bafana Bafana pulled off a 2-1 win over Colombia at a packed Soccer City on Thursday night, courtesy of two penalties.
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Teko Modise and Katlego Mphela netted from the spot to keep South Africa's World Cup preparations on track, cancelling out Giovanni Andrés Moreno's converted penalty.
The first half had more twists and turns than the Waltz and saw a flurry of baffling refereeing decisions. But it was the injury to Itumeleng Khune that was the focal point of the opening minutes, when he collided with Jackson Arley Martínez.
The Kaizer Chiefs stopper went up to win a header in the 10th minute and got an important punch on the ball, with the rebound falling to Gustavo Adrián Ramos. The attacker's shot was well wayward, but the thousands in Soccer City and the Bafana dugout were more concerned about Khune, who looked in considerable pain.
The gloveman continued until the interval, before being replaced by Moeneeb Josephs.
Khune's injury was the start of a frantic 15 minutes, in which two penalties were awarded and a number of yellow cards were dished out.
First, in the16th minute, Siphiwe Tshabalala's rasping corner was indirectly handled by Alejandro Guarín in the box. The referee awarded a penalty and David Ospina pulled off a save to deny Teko Modise from the spot.
The stopper was correctly adjudged to have come off his line too early and Modise had the chance to retake the penalty. He made no mistake the second time around, waiting for the keeper to move before cooly slotting home. It was the midfielder's first goal for Bafana since January 2009.
Then, almost instantaneously, Colombia broke through courtesy of a strong, weaving run from Gustavo Adrián Ramos. As the striker made his way into the box, Khune rushed out and took both the man and the ball to concede the second penalty in three minutes.
Moreno then evened matters from the spot after sending Bafana's No.1 the wrong way.
In the 28th minute, Siboniso Gaxa executed one of the moves of the match when he swayed the ball from foot to foot before sending a shibobo through the legs of his marker.
Ten minutes later though, it was the visitors who were piling on the pressure. Dayro Moreno's slaloming run was finally ended by Bongani Khumalo. Colombia were handed a free kick right outside the box, but Moreno's effort was off target and couldn't punish a flat-footed and still jaded Khune.
After the break, Carlos Alberto Parreira rang the changes. Steven Pienaar entered the fray along with Josephs and Kagiso Dikgacoi. Thanduyise Khuboni, Reneilwe Letsholonyane and Khune all made way.
The changes seemed to stunt Bafana's forays forward and to make matters worse, Tsepo Masilela left the field injured, with Lucas Thwala taking his place on the left flank.
Colombia took advantage of the changes and attacked in numbers, but Josephs was equal to the task at hand. He made a good save off a far-post cross and swallowed anything aimed just below the upright.
In the 57th minute, some great play between Mphela and Tshabalala saw the latter being tripped in the box just as he was about to pull the trigger.
The referee rightly pointed to the spot and Mphela stepped up to smack the ball to the right of the keeper who went the wrong way.
There were some late scares for Bafana, but Josephs and man-of-the-match Khumalo combined to ensure the World Cup hosts secured a win at Africa's biggest stadium.
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