Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Veli Mothwa extended an impressive national team record following his role in South Africa's friendly win over Botswana earlier this week.
AmaZulu shot-stopper Veli Mothwa is currently South Africa's second-choice goalkeeper behind captain Ronwen Williams but was handed a rare start in goal during the national team's 1-0 friendly win over Botswana on Tuesday.
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The 31-year-old enjoyed a quiet evening – barring one notable scare in possession – and did his part to ensure that his goal was not breached to help Bafana Bafana record a narrow victory over their Southern African opponents.
In doing so, Mothwa extended his national team record for the most consecutive clean sheets from debut, with the Usuthu star having now kept a clean sheet in all seven appearances for his country.
He made his debut during South Africa's 2021 COSAFA Cup campaign last year, where he remained unbeaten across all five matches at the tournament to captain the team to the title, earning the Goalkeeper of the Tournament award in the process.
Subsequent clean sheets in friendlies against Guinea and in Tuesday's win over Botswana have extended his record, which was previously held by Steve Crowley during the early 1990s.
Crowley kept five clean sheets in a row from debut before finally conceded during a 1-1 draw against neighbours Zimbabwe in 1993 during a qualifying match for the 1994 CAF Africa Cup of Nations.
Mothwa's record is also the best by any Bafana Bafana player after seven matches, surpassing the run Senzo Meyiwa enjoyed in which he conceded just once (in his third cap) in seven appearances before his untimely death.
Bafana Bafana's record with Veli Mothwa in goal:
06-07-2021: South Africa 1-0 Botswana (2021 COSAFA Cup)
08-07-2021: South Africa 1-0 Eswatini (2021 COSAFA Cup)
13-07-2021: South Africa 4-0 Lesotho (2021 COSAFA Cup)
16-07-2021: South Africa 3-0 Mozambique (2021 COSAFA Cup)
18-07-2021: South Africa 0-0 (5-4) Senegal (2021 COSAFA Cup final)
25-03-2021: South Africa 0-0 Guinea (Friendly)
27-09-2022: South Africa 1-0 Botswana (Friendly)
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