On the face of a barrage of incessant torment and ridicule, Bafana Bafana midfielder Sphephelo ‘Yaya’ Sithole dug deep and dusted and picked himself up to go again. By his own admission, he did not have the best of games in that opening match loss at the Azteca Stadium where his early mistake gifted co-hosts Mexico the lead and South Africa never recovered. Sithole was then red-carded in the 49th minute.He was suspended for the next match against Czechia where Bafana earned a 1-1 draw in Atlanta to keep themselves in the tournament but returned to the starting line-up against South Korea to replace suspended Teboho Mokoena. His presence in the starting line-up might have drawn groans of disgruntlement and caused consternation among supporters at home.It should not have. Sithole was always a better footballer than what his critics have made out.The Portugal-based KZN Academy product was one of the best performers for Bafana in the heart of the midfield against the Koreans alongside Thalente Mbatha and must have had a strong shout for the man-of-the-match award that went to scorer and constant thorn on the wing Thapelo Maseko. Asked how he dealt with the fierce criticism after the Mexico game, Sithole said the first two days were difficult but he pulled through because of the brotherhood in the squad. “The first two to three days wasn’t easy but I needed to pick myself up. After this performance, I am proud of myself because I did it but it wasn’t easy. I needed to be strong mentally, give everything and pick myself up,” he said.” Bafana’s performance against South Korea has won admirers from international pundits. Sithole said the display was a procuct of the South Africans fighting for each other. “We showed brotherhood because there was a lot of talk back home, but we did it as a team. You must have seen, with the way we played, that we worked as a team and everything went well,” he said, adding that progressing to the knockout stage is a major milestone for the country. “This is a dream come true, not only for us but everyone back home because this is what we wanted for the longest time.“I know we didn’t have a good start in the tournament. It is not how you start but how you finish.” With star midfielder Mokoena available for the last 32 match against co-hosts Canada at Los Angeles Stadium on Sunday (9pm SA time), it remains to be seen if Sithole will keep his place in that heart of the midfield. Whether he is in the starting line-up or on the bench against Canada, there is no doubt ‘Yaya’ has exorcised the Azteca Stadium demons. TimesLIVE