National Teams
Hugo Broos: South Africa coach satisfied with draw against Super Eagles in Uyo
By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
For the third straight game of visiting the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, South Africa senior men’s national team continued their unbeaten run after a 1-1 draw with Nigeria on Friday.
And head coach of Bafana Bafana Hugo Broos is happy with the result stating that it was a correct result for his side.
Ahead of the game, Broos’ target was to get four points from their next two games against Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
“First of all, I think that result is correct. A draw. We understand that Nigeria had its chances. I have to congratulate my players,” Broos told journalists after the match.
The team had a tough travelling condition upon arrival in the country but showed character against the Super Eagles.
“We had a terrible travel to Nigeria on Wednesday. We had 20 hours on the way. You see the mentality in the team today. I can only be proud of my players. It was a tough game with a good team.” He continued.
“First half I think we played fantastic football and had some chances which we could have scored 2-0. We were unlucky to concede after two minutes into the second half. Then we knew that it was going to be difficult. Again we fought for it from the 46th to the 95th minute and again I think the result is correct.
“I am very happy with the performance of all the players and also of the performance of Percy Tau. The second half I think physically it was difficult for him. He played his part in the game and had a good chance to score also but that is football. There were chances on the other side for Nigeria. Again the result is correct.”
Broos opined that Group C is a tough one in which teams will jostle for the World Cup ticket till the last games.
“Normally when you see the draw of the group, you know that Nigeria will be the biggest opponent to be first in the group. When you come here, you hope to get a minimum of one point and not to lose. That was for ha very important today. I said before that the pressure was on Nigeria with three draws now with two home games. In qualifiers, that is not really good. You need to win your home games first and see how to take some points or victory outside. For us, we are very happy with the point.
“It’s a very tricky group. You see the result after three games. It is unbelievable which was the biggest change in AFCON. The little countries progressed a lot and the results. This is the problem for all the teams in this group. Every team can win against any other team. Every team can take point from any other team. It will be tougher till the last games.” He concluded.
Bafana Bafana will next face Zimbabwe on Tuesday with a chance of toppling Lesotho at the top of the table.
