BAFANA VS FRANCE

and this was how I followed the game... rivetting stuff.

WC: Bafana v France - Live updates

Jonty Mark June 22 2010 at 03:35PM

FULL TIME SOUTH AFRICA 2 FRANCE 190+1 Tshabalala ought to score, though Lloris makes a great save from his shot, and France clear. Nomvete, after a mazy dribble, wins a free kick. Mphela smashes it into the wall and that's FULL TIME! South Africa win, but it's not enough to get them into the last 16. They lose out to Mexico on goal difference after Uruguay's 1-0 win in Rustenburg. Tks for joining me, and stay tuned to IOL for all the latest on the 2010 Fifa World Cup. Good evening. 90 minutes South Africa will be the continent's second team to drop out in the first round thus far. I actually reckon there is a decent chance not one African side will reach the last 16. I'm sorry to say it, but it's true. Modise fires wide, it hits the side netting, and some fans think it's in. But it's not.

87 minutes It has to be noted that Bafana have played infinitely better tonight without Teko Modise in the side. Should Parreira have actually given up on Teko sooner than he did. Again, it is easy in hindsight, but he really should have dropped him for the Uruguay game. 84 minutes The game is drifting towards its conclusion now, but that is not stopping the vuvuzelas from roaring across Bloemfontein, and will doubtless not stop this town from partying long into the night. Bafana deserve a good send off, as does Carlos Alberto Parreira, for whom this will now certainly be a last game in charge of Bafana.

80 minutes Tshabalala fires a shot just over the bar, as time ticks away on South Africa's World Cup dream. There will be a few what ifs, of course. What if Suarez had been rightly ruled offside for Uruguay's second goal in Pretoria? What if Mphela had taken that glorious opportunity at the start of the second half. In the end, however, Bafana were just not quite good enough. They have, however, played patches of excellent football in this World Cup.

78 minutes Teko Modise has come on to replace Khuboni, who had an excellent game. It was always asking a lot for Bafana to make it to the last 16, but can they at least hold on for a win, so they can exit the tournament with their heads held high?

74 minutes You can see some of the puff has gone out of Bafana now, and understandably so. As it stands, they need to score three more to go through. Pienaar's pass to Nomvete is just cut out.

70 minutes GOAL. South Africa 2 France 1 Oh dear. But that's a fantastic move from France, a sign of exactly what they can do. A brilliant back heel from Diaby sends Sagna scampering through the midfield, and he releases Ribery, who crosses for Malouda to tap home. That's more than likely Bafana's chances gone. 68 minutes Nomvete is on for Parker. Why did Carlos Alberto Parreira not sacrifice a defender in a bid for glory? That's bizarre.

66 minutes Pienaar fires in a shot from range, but it's tame and easy for Lloris. Siyabonga Nomvete is about to come on. Tshabalala, meanwhile, is down with a leg injury.

64 minutes Mphela is in behind the French defence again, but it's from a difficult angle and he can's squeeze the ball home. Mexico almost equalise in Rustenburg, but they don't!

58 minutes Mphela is simply having shooting practice right now, and another belter is tipped around the post by Lloris. Ribery fires over at the other end. Still Uruguay 1 Mexico 0.

55 minutes Thierry Henry is about to come on for France. And Bafana right back Anele Ngcongca is stretchered off and will be replaced by Siboniso Gaxa. Henry comes on for Cisse.

50 minutes Do you think Gignac swore at Domenech in the dressing room at half time and that is why he's off? That was UNBELIEVABLY CLOSE! Tshabalala finds Mphela, who is clean through and curls it over Lloris and against the post. Could Bafana regret that miss at the final whistle?

47 minutes: Joe Clarke in Canada has just started his day's work! "Cheering on 'The Boys' from afar here in Vancouver," says Joe. "The work day has just begun here and what a start! Come on Bafana, live the dream, and let the nation dream with you. 4-0 against France, and Uruguay to win in the other game. VIVA BAFANA VIVA!" 46 minutes: WELCOME BACK! The French do not look happy in the tunnel. Chelsea winger Florent Malouda is on, replacing Andre Pierre Gignac. Bafana, unsurprisingly, are unchanged.And we're underway, could Bafana be 45 minutes away from glory?

45 minutes: By the way, I forgot to mention that just after Mphela's goal, the Sundowns striker slammed in another from Steven Pienaar's pass, but he was rightly called offside. Just thought I would throw that in. Khumalo, meanwhile, stretches out a long leg to deny Cisse a clear strike. And that is Half Time. This is riveting. Just a reminder - Bafana need two more goals and if the score stays the same in Rustenburg, Carlos Alberto Parreira's men are through. If Uruguay can score one more, Bafana only need one more. See you after the break, I need to catch my breath.

44 minutes THIS IS ON NOW! URUGUAY 1 MEXICO 0. Luis Suarez with a goal for Uruguay. Two more for Bafana and they are in the last 16. And against a French side that has lost the plot that is entirely possible.

42 minutes Mphela cracks in a beauty that Hugo Lloris does well to tip behind for a corner.

40 minutes: Ribery's free kick from way out forces Moeneeb Josephs into a brilliant reaction save. At the other end, Pienaar almost put Tshabalala in the clear.

36 minutes GOAL. OH YES! SOUTH AFRICA 2 FRANCE 0. Oh. My. Word. This on. Tshabalala crosses, the ball hits Diarra, and breaks fro Masilela, whose low cross is bundled in by Mphela. All we need now is a goal in the other match, and it's really, really starting to get interesting.

33 minutes Pienaar wins a free kick for a foul by Arsenal's Abou Diaby. Tshabalala curls it not that far over the bar. Uruguay-Mexico is still 0-0.

26 minutes RED CARD FOR FRANCE'S YOANN GOURCUFF. France's tournament goes from worse to catastrophic. But that is a pathetic decision from the Colombian referee. My word, the officiating at this tournament has been poor. He led with his arm, jumping for a cross, and caught Sibaya, but you do have to feel sorry for France. That was a shocker from Oscar Ruiz.

24 minutes A word for Khumalo, who has easily been Bafana's best defender at this tournament. Almost two for Bafana! Mphela storms forward and fires inches wide.

21 minutes OOOOOH! Mexico's Andres Guardardo hits a screamer that comes back off the crossbar in the other match. Cisse fires wide for France right here. This is getting interesting...

19 minutes GOAL GOAL GOAL! South Africa 1 France 0. A superb corner from Tshabalala, and Bongani Khumalo arrives at the back post to head in. The dream is still alive!

17 minutes: Steven Pienaar goes forward, stands still, starts smoking a pipe, and is robbed of the ball by Franck Ribery. Sibaya then actually has a shot, but it's way off target. <>That's better, Mr Pienaar. He absolutely crunches into a challene with Alou Diarra, winning the ball cleanly. Bafana break, but they give the ball away after about two passes.

12 minutes: The crowd have already started a Mexican wave. For once, I don't blame them. 10 minutes: Do you wait for something to happen before updating a live blog. Or do you just fill the space with some words anyway? Cisse flicks a header straight at Josephs. Otherwise nothing has happened. Bafana look ponderous, passing the ball sideways, before Pienaar loses it. He's not having a very good tournament at all.

6 mins: If the great question was, 'Can France be bothered', the answer is, I'm not sure yet. They are leisurely knocking the ball about, mostly with all the aggression of a snail, but it's early doors2mins: Tshabalaa's cross finds Mphela, but the Sundowns striker commits a foul. At the other end, Andre Pierre Gignac is clear, but shoot straight at Josephs.

4pm: And we're off. Mexico-Uruguay was underway a few seconds earlier.

3.57pm: The national anthems are over, and we are almost ready to kick off. Time for some name dropping, France and Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira is sitting a few seats away from me. I wonder what he makes of the French mess. Oscar Ruiz from Colombia is the referee today. The Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein is a sea of vuvuzela-blaring yellow. Can Bafana pull off a miracle, or at the very least a pride-restoring win. We are about to find out.

3.55pm: I will also, by the way, keep you up to date with the Mexico-Uruguay clash, taking place at the same time. SA 3 France 0 and Uruguay 2 Mexico 0 would do nicely, if you are a Bafana fan!

3.51pm: The teams are in the tunnel, waiting to come out onto the field. Doemenech has presumably picked guys he thinks are prepared to actually play for him this afternoon. You know that tv series 'Everybody Love Raymond'. Well, in France, it really is 'Everybody hates Raymond,' as one newspaper headline recently pointed out. Mind you, the players, for behaving like petulant schoolchildren are not far behind. There was, however only an enormous boo for Domenech when the names were read out here. And here come the teams.

3.44pm: Bafana will, in all likelihood, be the first host nation ever to be knocked out in the first round. But if you think they have problems, take a look at the French, who are in abject chaos. Coach Raymond Domenech has dropped captain Patrice Evra for this game, after he led the players as they refused to train on Sunday, in protest at the French Football Federation's decision to send home Nicholas Anelka. Anelka was given the boot because he refused to apologise for calling Domenech a "son of a whore" at half time in France's defeat to Mexico. Domenech has also dropped winger Florent Malouda, striker Sydney Govou and defender Eric Abidal for this game. Defender Sebastian Squillaci, striker Djibril Cisse and midfielder Alou Diarra all make their tournament debuts. Diarra is even captaining the side, in Evra's absence.

3.39pm: Right, so changes aplenty for both teams for an encounter in which they both need to give the other a serious hammering. Bafana have, as promised by coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, made five changes, with Tekom Modise FINALLY dropped. Steven Pienaar retains his place, but in come Moeneeb Josephs, MacBeth Sibaya, Thanduyise Khuboni, Anele Ngcongca and Bernard Parker, and out go Modise, Siboniso Gaxa, Itumeleng Khune (suspended), Kagiso Dikgacoi (suspended)and Reneilwe Letsholonyane.

3.30pm: Good day all. Remember you can e-mail me your thoughts at jonty.mark@inl.co.za. Here are the line-ups:South Africa (4-4-2): Josephs; Ngcongca, Mokoena, Khumalo, Masilela; Pienaar, Sibaya, Khuboni, Tshabalala; Parker, MphelaFrance (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Sagna, Gallas, Squillaci, Clichy; Diarra, Diaby; Gignac, Gourguff, Ribery; Cisse.Hello, and welcome to IOL's live coverage of this afternoon's World Cup 2010 Group A clash between South Africa and France. Both these sides need a heavy victory and must then pray there is a winner the group's other game between Uruguay and Mexico, and that goal difference then swings in their favour. Frankly, there's more likelihood of the ANC Youth League taking a vow of silence, but, in the spirit of miracles, let's hope Bafana can do it

Big surprise!

Hi Victoria, what a lovely surprise. Thanks for the comments. Miss you too. Baci xxx

Via Ferrata

This is what we have been up to for the last couple of weekends. It’s called “Via Ferrata”, not sure how to translate that. Literally it means “iron road”. It is a kind of mountain climbing, just not so risky as there are fixed cables, stemples, ladders and bridges. Some parts can be incredibly strenuous and trying. So far we have done a few and I am hooked. Unfortunately it is starting to become a bit chilly and rainy, so I think we won’t do anymore until next year spring. Can’t wait!

I also hope to be blogging again. After a little emotional hiccup, I am back on track!

La Ciaspolada

Eccomi.

So, Saturday we went walking in the snow covered appenines with snow rackets. What a nice experience. We met at the hotel in the afternoon, got to meet and greet the rest of the apprehensive, nervous crowd of mainly Tuscans. Hoha-hola! At about 6pm we had what was supposed to be a snack, but seemed like a full on meal. Tigelle, crescentine, mortadella, prosciutto, salami, and lambrusco! The guide then gave us a “bre-efing”. I love it when Italians use English words. And then when one says “briefing” as you should, no-body seems to understand, so you have say the word in an italianised way. Anyway, eventually we left for our adventure under the full moon and stars and crunched our way over the snow filled mountains.

The walk was strenuous, but we had the goal of arriving at our destination….a hut with a log fire and a 3 course meal! I had exerted so much energy though, that I actually wasn’t at all hungry. What a disappointment. Anyway, either I had drunk too much lambrusco or the Tuscans were REALLY funny, I haven’t laughed that much in a long time.

Coming down wasn’t as easy as we had all thought. Knees were taking a lot of strain.
We got back to the hotel at about 1am. I collapsed into bed. Apparently not everyone was as fortunate. Some still had adrenaline pumping through the veins. And the quaint village hotel was right next to a church, with a beautiful bell that chimed every half hour!!! I slept through it all.

Padova visit

We went to visit Diego’s wonderful aunt and uncle in Padova. We try to get there at least once a year. This time round lo Zio took us to see Scrovegni’s Chapel. A chapel entirely decorated by the hand of Giotto, a prolific and esteemed 14th century artist.

The wealthy money-lender, Enrico Scrovegni had it built around 1305 and decorated as penitence for his father’s sins and probably his own. Interesting times those medieval years. Lend money to the poor, charge exorbitant, illegal interest rates, poep yourself thinking you’re going to go to hell, use that money to build a chapel dedicated to God and voilà, you have secured your little possie in heaven. Yeah right. Anyway, it was really worthwhile visiting. Giotto did an amazing job for his times.

The Little Mermaid... NOT!

So. My swimming training is going well. Felt like I swallowed half the pool today though.

Back stroke is definitely not my forte.

The splashing of the water, ear plugs, misted-up goggles, trying to catch my breath, swimming is definitely a sport that tackles all senses head-on. I am enjoying the challenge. Oh and Adonis, I mean, Francesco, the trainer, has a lot of patience.

I have also learned that the stroke “Butterfly” is called “Dolphin” in Italian, Delfino. Who knew?

Never a dull moment

I was curled up on the couch, watching some travel programme, snuggling under the duvet, glancing out the window every once in a while to see if it was still snowing. I was comfortable. I was happy. At 4.30pm, I hear a distressed voice. “We’ve been at home the whole day, lets just go for a drive somewhere and then we can catch the six thirty movie”. I conceded.

Driving along in the Jeep, chewing the cud, as you do. Diego comments, “Oh, look, that area there is called la cassa d’espansione, when it rains really hard or when the melted snow starts coming down from the mountains and the river overflows, the extra water flows into this huge area, which was covered with water just a week ago. Today it’s empty, let’s check it out”. We drive up the ramp onto the embankment, drive a few metres along until we reach another ramp going down into this isolated expanse of area closed in by another embankment next to the river. It is becoming dark and has started snowing again.

We drive onto a plain of clay-like mud. “Oh cazzo”, I hear my husband say. This is not a good sign. The Jeep starts skidding and sliding all over the place, mud being thrown in the air, and then we were STUCK.IN.THE.MUD, in an isolated area with no-one in sight on a cold and snowy Sunday evening! “Lock yourself in the car, I am going to get help!” he says grabbing his jacket. I look into the rear view mirror and see him disappear into the dark, cold night air.

The first isolated house he came across was inhabited by a Chinese family. They closed the door in his face. After walking for about another 15 minutes, he came across a bar/coffee shop. By this time drenched and shivering with cold, he described his plight to the handful of locals enjoying an aperitif before dinner. Orfeo, an artisan of about 40 years old, offered to see what he could do to help. Nearly half an hour later, I heard their voices as they approached the Jeep. He said there was nothing he could do but he knew a farmer with a tractor who lived about a 20 minute drive away. He called Daniele. A jovial, thirty something-ish, arrived almost within 20 minutes, laughing, saying, “Chi è il cretino che ha fatto questa?” Diego sheepishly saying it was him.

Daniele alluded to the fact that there was a hotel down the road and that we didn’t have to go to this extreme to, you know, get the Jeep all steamy windowed. We laughed. Then he says, “But signora, I know you. You work at the local fruit shop”. My attempts to tell him that it was not me went unnoticed. Daniele was convinced. The poor girl, who looks like me, who works at the local, one-horse town fruit shop is going to have a very interesting reputation from now on! LOL.

The tractor pulled the Jeep out with very little effort. We were very relieved! We paid Daniele for his time and diesel, offered Orfeo a quick drink and then went home. Nearly 3 hours later. We didn’t get to see the movie, but the next time Diego wants to go for a little drive and I am cosy and snug on the couch, I’ll remind him of our costly, muddy little adventure in a town called Motta.

Here are some pictures, they aren’t very clear, due to weather conditions, but they give a general idea. The first three taken without the flash and the last one with the flash. The little white dots are snow flakes.