Dunedin, New Zealand: In Friday's Group G match of the FIFA Women's World Cup, South Africa blew a 2-0 lead against Argentina and was forced to settle for a 2-2 draw.
The first group games for both teams had ended in defeats. According to Xinhua, South Africa was defeated 2-1 by Sweden while Argentina had fallen to Cristiana Girelli's dramatic injury-time goal against Italy.
In Friday's clash, South Africa took the lead in the 30th minute when Thembi Kgatlana sprung the offside trap and squared for a better-positioned Linda Motlhalo to tap in. Banyana Banyana doubled the lead in the 66th minute when they won back possession and Kgatlana found the back of the net from close range.
Argentina fought back and got back on level terms five minutes later when Sophia Braun fired a rocket from 25 yards before Romina Nunez steered a header into the net to restore parity.
Both sides have thus kept their last 16 hopes alive before their final Group G fixtures on Saturday in Wellington.
With inputs from IANS