Burnley man bags in behind closed doors friendly

Burnley’s Lyle Foster made a return to scoring ways just days out from the World Cup.

The 25-year-old was recently told he was in need of a confidence boost by his South Africa coach Hugo Broos following a disappointing club campaign.

The striker scored just three goals all season as the Clarets were relegated back to the Championship.

He also endured a difficult end to the season, where he saw just 21 minutes of action under interim boss Mike Jackson during the final four games.

To make matters worse, Foster missed a penalty during South Africa’s 0-0 World Cup warmup with Nicaragua last week.

But the forward was back on the scoresheet last time as Bafana Bafana played out a 1-1 draw with Jamaica in Mexico.

Details on the goal and the game itself are sketchy, given the friendly was played behind closed doors.

A statement from South Africa’s FA included quotes from Broos, however, who suggested he wasn’t happy with his side’s display.

It comes ahead of South Africa’s group opener against tournament hosts Mexico on Thursday night.

“The performance was not what I expected," Broos said.

“I think we have to analyse the game very well and see what was really wrong and try to make it better in the next few days so that we are ready for the first game against Mexico.

“I thought we were close [to getting to where he wants the team to be before the opening match], but again, it was, for me, a disappointing game this afternoon.

“So yes, I have to look at what went wrong. I think it was also a matter of mentality.

"We have to do more, much more, than what we did this afternoon to have good results in the World Cup in the next few weeks.”

Jamaica coach Rudolph Speid, meanwhile, believes South Africa were holding back against his team.

“I think they were playing within themselves,” he said. “You know, players don’t want to get injured and everybody wants to impress the coach.

“I didn’t think they were going for it as much as they could have.”