Winning friendly matches is what Bafana Bafana do best.

Be it Spain, Senegal, Ivory Coast or Egypt, South Africa's senior national team has developed a habit of getting a win in friendly matches that sometimes come after a slip-up in a crucial qualifier.

Last night in the Nelson Mandela Challenge match against Egypt beleaguered Bafana recovered from the disappointing 1-1 draw with Mauritania in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier on Friday to beat the Pharaohs 1-0.

This match was widely tipped as coach Shakes Mashaba's last at the helm.

Mashaba, who had his big bosses at Safa among the keen spectators last night, came into this game with reports suggesting he would be shown the door after a disastrous Afcon qualifying campaign.

He needed victory against the Egyptians to at least have some hope of staying in the job he has occupied since June 2014.

If it, indeed, was his last game, the coach should be pleased with the result but not the entire performance.

Bafana did not test Egyptian goalkeeper Ahmed el Shanawy as much as they should have and they were let off the hook by the visitors who wasted a number of chances to win this match.

But in football it's goals that win you matches, which Bafana did.

After scoring the decider against Senegal in last year's edition at this venue, Orlando Pirates midfielder Mpho Makola was again the hero for Mashaba's men with a seventh-minute goal from a good build-up in the Egyptian half.

He started the move just outside the Egyptian box with a pass to Mandla Masango, who then whipped in a ball which was met by Makola's head at the far post.

Egypt, who have qualified for Afcon, had their chances, but were unable to make Itumeleng Khune's net rattle.

Now it remains to be seen if Safa chiefs are happy with the performance of the team, as they have to make a decision on the coach before the 2018 World Cup qualifiers kick-off in about a month.