Mark Gleeson BBC Sport, South Africa

McCarthy combined well with Bartlett

South Africa put their 2006 World Cup campaign back on track with a 2-0 win over Burkina Faso in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The victory goes some way towards erasing the bitter memory of the 3-0 defeat suffered at the hands of their chief Group Two rivals Ghana two weeks ago.

The return of Shaun Bartlett and Benni McCarthy gave Bafana Bafana a new attacking edge, particularly the off-the-ball running of Bartlett.

He was able to profit from the close attention that McCarthy received from the visiting defence.

Steven Pienaar also showed a new dimension to his game in the creative midfield role and the combination between the three emphasised their importance to South Africa's hopes.

Pienaar got the opening goal after 13 minutes from close range after the combination of Bartlett and McCarthy set him in the clear.

Bartlett added the second with a brave diving header four minutes before the break after he had a shot cleared off the line.

Bartlett got in at the near post and was injured in the process but not before he had stretched his record as South Africa's all-time leading goalscorer to 27 goals.

There were few chances created in a dour second half where legs on both side seemed tired.

South African goalkeeper Hans Vonk was rarely troubled and at the other end the late introduction of Siyabonga Nomvete failed to provide the expected spark for Bafana Bafana.

After the game, coach Stuart Baxter praised the performance of his defenders who dealt easily with the dual threat posed by highly-rated Moumouni Dagano and Mamadou Zongo.

In Kampala, Uganda and Ghana shared the points after a 1-1 draw in another Group Two match.

David Obua headed home a Philip Ssozi free-kick that gave the hosts the lead on the stroke of half-time.

But Asamoah Gyan rescued a point for the Black Stars when he headed home the equaliser five minutes from full time.

The Cape Verde Islands came from behind to draw 1-1 with the Democratic Republic of Congo in Praia.

Kalioku Kaliyitu gave the beleaguered visitors a second-minute lead, while Jimmy Modeste equalised for Cape Verde midway in the first-half.

Cape Verde goalkeeper Veiga denied the Congolese several chances in a game where the islanders failed to live up to expectations.