Goals from Teboho Mokoena, Mothobi Mvala and Evidence Makgopa secured the victory for South Africa and kept them top of Group G above Ghana

Bafana Bafana at times looked disjointed at the back, despite their 3-1 World Cup qualifying win over Ethiopia at the Bahir Dar Stadium on Saturday.

The victory, away from home, was a fantastic result for head coach Hugo Broos and his men. However, with Ghana also winning 3-1, against Zimbabwe, South Africa are only one point clear of the Black Stars and cannot afford any slip-ups.

At FNB Stadium on Tuesday night against Ethiopia, the only acceptable result will be a win.

It should therefore be taken into account that in Saturday's game, the Bafana defence was badly exposed on a number of occasions and were it not for some poor finishing, as well as three brilliant saves by captain and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, the result could have been different.

The game had after all been in the balance right up until the closing minutes when substitute Makgopa made the result safe with the third goal for the visitors.

When the Bafana technical team watches the game back on video, they may well be concerned about the defensive lapses. At left-back, Terrence Mashego did great on debut. However, both the central defenders Siyanda Xulu and Rushine De Reuck had some sloppy moments, Xulu in particular, while right-back Nyiko Mobbie was also exposed a couple of times.

Mobbie looked promising going forward, but in defence, some poor positional play meant that Nasir Abubeker was able to go clean through on goal not once, but three times.

Blom meanwhile has been rock-solid for Amakhosi this season at right-back, even if he's actually a central midfielder. And he's also shown himself to be an excellent crosser of the ball. Mobbie has on the other hand failed to nail down a place at Mamelodi Sundowns and has since been loaned to Sekhukhune United, where he's played just three matches this term.

It's arguable that Blom is currently a better option. He certainly has some great traits - including what looks like a steely resolve and a never-say-die attitude, which was often praised by former Amakhosi coach Gavin Hunt last season.

The other possible option which Broos may be considering is to replace Xulu with Blom's Chiefs teammate, Njabulo Ngcobo, which would be in line with his ushering in of a younger Bafana setup.

However, for now it might make more sense to give Xulu another game, he has after all been pretty solid in the qualifying campaign to date.

It's also more risky to break up a central defensive partnership than it is to change a full-back, and Xulu and De Reuck know each other very well from their Maritzburg United days. Dropping De Reuck would be a confidence blow for the youngster, who overall had a fair enough game on Saturday.

The other issue is that Ngcobo has barely played for Chiefs this season and so may not be 100% sharp and match fit. He certainly showed his quality for Swallows last season and the current PSL Defender of the Season will surely go on to be well-capped by his country.

For now though, Ngcobo may need to bide his time. Blom on the other hand should come into strong consideration for a place in the starting XI in Soweto on Tuesday evening.

Source: Goal