CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) South Africa opened a new era under coach Ephraim Mashaba with a 3-0 win in Sudan to start the final round of African Cup qualifying on Friday.
Substitute Sibusiso Vilakazi poked home with his first touch in the 55th minute and added a second six minutes later in Omdurman. Bongani Ndulula scored the third in the 78th to take Bafana Bafana to a promising away win and the early lead in Group A.
Nigeria hosts Republic of Congo in the other group game on Saturday.
Mashaba's new-look South African team absorbed some early pressure on a steaming hot night at Al-Merrikh Stadium when players were given a water break halfway through the first half.
Vilakazi then pounced from close range to break through straight after being introduced by Mashaba early in the second half. He powered a right-foot shot into the roof of the net to put the visiting team 2-0 up and in control before Ndulula's late third.
Mashaba is in his second term in charge of South Africa and took over in July after the 2010 World Cup host failed to qualify for the 2014 showcase in Brazil. He started with a morale-boosting win for an underperforming South African team, which was due to travel home straight after the final whistle to prepare for Wednesday's game against defending African champion Nigeria in Cape Town.
In other qualifiers, Guinea was playing Togo in neutral Morocco later Friday, with the venue for their Group E game switched because of the Ebola outbreak in Guinea. Senegal was hosting Egypt in Dakar.
The final round of qualifying for next year's African Cup of Nations sees 28 teams split into seven groups of four. The top two from each group and the best third-placed team will join host Morocco at the African Cup finals in January.
