Here’s what Hugo Broos said after Bafana Bafana’s draw against Panama
· The South African
Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos praised his players’ display after the South African senior men’s national team drew 1-1 against Panama in an international friendly played at a sweltering Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Friday night.
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The Central American side were the first to get their names on the stadium scoreboard after Yoel Barcenas scored in the 23rd minute.
Against the run of play
Panama found the back of the net very much against the run of play after somehow managing to avoid conceding a goal as the hosts laid their goal under siege for long periods.
The irrepressible Oswin Appollis finally found the breakthrough when he levelled matters in the 48th minute with a stunning goal that the Panama goalkeeper did not know much about.
Hugo Broos said while Bafana Bafana could not find the winning goal that would have been just reward for the myriad of opportunities they created during the match, he could look back at the players’ delivery during the 90 minutes with satisfaction.
‘Made two mistakes in 90 minutes’
“I think everybody can agree that we played a good game.
“We dominated Panama for 90 minutes and we only made two mistakes during the game.
“Their goal, we should have kicked that ball into the stands, but we wanted to do things in a nice way.
“I told the players during half-time that there is nothing wrong with kicking the ball into the stands when they are under pressure.
“The second chance was in the second half,” Hugo Broos said, referring to the shot that hit the upright during the second period.
According to the latest FIFA rankings, Panama are ranked 33rd in the world, while South Africa are in 60th spot.
Bafana Bafana will travel to Cape Town on Saturday morning ahead of their second clash against Panama at the Cape Town Stadium on Tuesday, 31 March.
Kick-off is at 19:30.