Nigeria battled from two goals down to secure a 2-2 draw with 10-man Bafana Bafana, but the result was not enough for them to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
South Africa came into the game with no pressure having qualified for the tournament over the weekend and raced into a two-goal lead through Tokelo Rantie.
However, Reneilwe Letsholonyane received his marching orders for a second bookable offence, allowing the Super Eagles to pile on the pressure in the last 20 minutes.
Their sustained pressure paid dividends as substitute Sone Aluko netted twice to earn his side a draw.
Bafana made a bright start to the half and really should have taken the lead on four minutes after Rantie pounced on a defensive error and battled into the box.
However, the Bournemouth man opted for the shot and fired over when he really should have laid it off for Kermit Erasmus to fire home.
After that Nigeria asserted their dominance for much of the first half, with Ahmed Musa three times being thwarted by the impressive Darren Keet after going one-on-one with the South Africa stopper each time.
There was a moment of controversy as Musa raced clear of the Bafana defence only to be flagged offside, with replays showing the Celtic forward was very much onside when the ball was played.
Then out of nowhere, with three minutes remaining of the first half, Rantie picked the ball up on the wing, shrugged off both Chukwu Lawal and Azubuike Egwuekwe as he made his way into the box, before curling home at the near post from a tight angle.
The Super Eagles were nearly back on level pegging after the interval, John Obi Mikel getting a shot away after a failed clearance, but Keet gratefully gathered the rather weak effort.
Two minutes later, Rantie grabbed his second of the evening, this time dispossessing the defender before cutting across goal, taking the ball past Nigeria stopper Vincent Enyeama before firing into an empty net.
The hosts continued to search for a way back into the game, knowing they needed a win to get the chance to defend their AFCON title, however they could only muster a handful of half chances.
They did finally get a breakthrough on 69 minutes after a spell of possession, Aluko in the right place at the right time to slot home after Ikechuku Uche’s initial effort had cannoned back off the upright.
Things looked even rosier for the Super Eagles when Letsholonyane received a second yellow for a clumsy foul in midfield with 71 minutes on the clock.
In a last throw of the dice, Stephen Keshi brought attacker Aaron Samuel on for defender Kenneth Omeruo, changing to a 3-3-4 system.
South Africa managed to weather the storm for the rest of regulation time, with Nigeria failing to find the final ball in the box.
However, Aluko finally restored parity four minutes into injury time, squeezing his powerful shot in at the near post with his weaker foot after being allowed time and space on the edge of the area.
A tired Rantie had a great chance to snatch a winner in similar fashion to his second goal, shrugging off two defenders as he cut across the box right at the death, but Enyeama was ready for him this time and was able to make the stop.
In the end, Bafana were able to hold on to their unbeaten run throughout their qualification campaign, while the draw was not quite enough for Nigeria to qualify, with Congo beating Sudan 1-0 elsewhere.
