Teboho Mokoena scored an 83rd-minute penalty to rescue a point for South Africa in a 1-1 draw against the Czech Republic at the FIFA World Cup.
South Africa fell behind after just five minutes and seven seconds when Michal SadÃlek latched onto a clever lay-off and rifled home the earliest goal of the tournament so far.
Having also conceded early in their opening match against Mexico, Bafana Bafana gradually settled into the contest and slowed the tempo. However, they struggled to create clear-cut opportunities and did not register their first shot on target until the 74th minute.
Their breakthrough finally came with less than 10 minutes of normal time remaining when Thapelo Maseko's powerful effort struck Pavel Å ulc's arm inside the Czech penalty area, prompting the referee to point to the spot.
Mokoena kept his composure and calmly slotted the penalty into the left corner to earn South Africa a valuable draw.
The result does little to significantly improve either side's hopes of reaching the knockout stages, with Mexico and South Korea sitting above them in the Group A standings.
However, with the eight best third-placed teams also progressing to the last 32 and three points potentially enough to secure qualification, both South Africa and the Czech Republic still have plenty to play for heading into their final group matches.
South Africa will face South Korea on Thursday, 25 June, while the Czech Republic take on co-hosts Mexico at the Estadio Azteca at the same time.
