Hugo Broos watched in disappointment as the team allowed a 2-goal lead to turn into a draw against Liberia on Friday night in Orlando stadium.
JOHANNESBURG – Hugo Broos was left at a loss for words as Bafana Bafana let a two-goal lead slip to draw 2-2 with Liberia in a Group K 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Friday night at Orlando Stadium.
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‘ Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) March 24, 2023
The Belgian coach’s annoyance was visible to see as he left his technical area before full-time after South Africa conceded late on.
He then snubbed his post-match interview with broadcaster SABC and intended to do the same with other media houses as he sent his assistant coach Helman Mkhelele to address the gathered journalists.
After resistance from the practitioners, Broos eventually came out to speak but was a man of few words when reflecting on a result that puts their qualification hopes in jeopardy.
“You have to forgive me today,” an exasperated Broos said. “I will not give any answers on this game. There’s too much disappointment and too much anger in my body. If I say now what I think, it would not be nice.”
He went on to add: “I have always been ready in the past to answer your questions – even difficult questions. But I hope that you understand, that today is for me very difficult to do that.
Again, sorry for that. I hope that when you saw the game and saw what happened on the pitch today, you can understand my reaction. Thank you very much.”
For Ansu Keita, it was a debut game to enjoy.
As a practising Muslim, Keita revealed that he spent the day fasting and praying to God to get a positive result from the game.
He added that he never doubted his players’ spirit, even when they were 2-0 down.
“I told my players in the dressing room ‘if Bafana Bafana score 100, we score 100’. When they scored there was no worry. I told them to stay calm. Focused.”
He added: “It was difficult for us, it’s a new team. It’s a new generation. We have a lot of new players from Europe, and we know it’s tough in Africa, but you have to adapt.”
As for the game itself, Keita said: “We knew we would suffer. We knew Bafana Bafana would miss a lot of goals but it’s football. One has to miss and one has to capitalise on that. So we keep our calm. We defended well and we got a good result.”
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