Bafana Bafana star Percy Tau nearly shut down social media on Sunday after he made his debut for English Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion, winning rave reviews for his performance.

The star, who was last week recalled from loan by the club, came off the bench as Newport pushed Brighton to extra-time and then penalties.

Brighton looked to have sealed a late winner when Solly March scored a 90th minute. cracker, but Newport clawed their way back into the game with one of the last chances of the match.

Brighton's goalkeeper Jason Steele missed a cross and the ball deflected off the legs of Brighton defender Adam Webster to force the game into extra time.

Local fans who had waited for the game all week were excited at the prospect of seeing Tau for another 30 minutes and the star impressed.

Tau left defenders dizzy with his dribbling and nearly came up with the winner five minutes from time.

Sadly, he wasn't able to keep his shot down and the game went to penalties where Steele redeemed himself, saving four shots.

SA fans flooded social media with comments and memes reacting to Tau's performance, as the star's name and “Lion of Judah” dominated the Twitter trends list.

They also called on the club to include him in the starting line up in their next game against giants Manchester City tomorrow.

Here are some of the reactions: