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Fiesta at fan park as Bafana triumph over France

Amanda Watson

A near-capacity crowd stuffed the Innisfree Fan Park on the occasion of Bafana Bafana’s match against France.

While those at stadiums might be subjected to the blare of South Africa’s national musical instrument, at the fan park it soon died away as fans concentrated on the game. At times you could hear a pin drop.

But when Bafana scored their first goal the explosion of noise rocked Jozi back on its heels. Fans jumped and screamed and blew vuvuzelas into the sky.

The crowd was extraordinarily well-behaved. One minor argument between two pickled fellows was squashed in seconds by alert security guards, who led the duo away to cheers from fans. Then it was back to business as Bafana ignored what was happening in the fan park and went on with winning.

The sending off of French player Yoann Gourcuff for an elbow to the jaw of midfielder Macbeth Sibaya brought a happy calm as certainty of a win for South Africa settled over Innisfree Fan Park.

At the end of it, happy fans continued to blow their pride in the national team on their way home on a chilly Tuesday night. The fan park is an experience not to be missed.
-amandaw@caxton.co.za

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