After a nightmare in the previous Cup when they were the first team eliminated despite also being high up the rankings, Algeria fought back for a winning start to their campaign.
But it could have been a vastly different story after South Africa took a 51st minute lead through Thuso Phala and then won a penalty minutes later for a chance to go 2-0 up. They had already struck the crossbar in the first half through Dean Furman and looked to be in the driving seat after getting behind the Algerian defence just before the interval.
But Tokelo Rantie blasted the 58th minute kick against the crossbar.
South African defender Thulani Hlatshwayo then mistimed a header to concede an own goal in the 67th minute to allow Algeria back into the game.
His attempted clearance of Yacine Brahimi’s innocuous-looking chip shaved the top of his head and beat his goalkeeper Darren Keet. Algeria were ahead four minutes later when full back Faouzi Ghoulam blasted home.
Islam Slimani made sure of the win with a third goal in the 82nd minute as the ball slipped under Keet’s body in another error from the South Africans. "It was an intense game and it could have been catastrophic. But things turn quickly in football and we played well to come back and win,” said Algeria coach Christian Gourcuff.
In the earlier Group C match at the Estadio de Mongomo, Senegal scored with the last kick of the match to beat Ghana 2-1 after trailing at half-time.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Alan Baldwin)
