Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos is relieved that they were able to avoid a loss in their Afcon opening match and that the 2-1 victory over Angola has brought back confidence and belief in the team.
Bafana are now Group B joint leaders with Egypt, who pulled a rabbit out of a hat to beat a determined Zimbabwe by the same 2-1 scoreline. SA and Egypt are both on three points and on course to book their ticket to the knockout stages.
Crucial match on Friday
Bafana and the Pharaohs will face each other on Friday. This will be a very crucial match for the destination of the two in-form sides.
The Belgium-born coach said that the introduction of Tshepang Moremi at the start of the second half proved to be decisive. He gave the Angolans plenty to think about. At that time the South African midfielders were struggling to deal with the physically imposing Angolans.
The likes of Sipho Mbule, Mohau Nkota and Lyle Foster were being shoved around, and saw very little of the ball. It was by no mistake when Nkota was substituted during the half-time break by Moremi.
A mere five minutes later, Moremi made an immediate impact when he scored. But his strike was cancelled by the video assistant referee (VAR), who ruled that Foster came from an offside position. The quick Orlando Pirates forward had executed a brilliant turn that bamboozled an Angolan defender, before drilling the ball into the net.
“Losing the first game was always going to be difficult for us. So, we avoided that, and we played good, and scored the goal,” said Broos after the game.
Right tactical substitutions
“But we suddenly fell asleep, and Angola was slowly coming back into the game. They were dangerous and came with better combinations. And we suffered because there was no longer passion in the team and we played very slow. It was not our usual game.”
Broos explained further that they made the right tactical substitutions during halftime. This worked in favour of the team.
“We got some things right during halftime, and I think Moremi also gave us good service. He played very well, was quick, and was a threat for the Angola defence. This changed a lot of things.
“We were also more aggressive. And we put more pressure on the opponent. We had some chances and even got a goal from Moremi. But okay, it was offside. [Mbekezeli] Mbokazi’s shot as well and we thought it was not happening today. But now we can focus on the game against Egypt on Friday,” Broos added.
Bafana play their next Afcon Group B match against Egypt on Friday. Group rivals Zimbabwe face Angola in the other match.
