Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos heaped praise on his players following their 1-1 draw with hosts Nigeria in their Fifa World Cup qualifier, in Uyo, on Friday evening.
Bafana dominated the first half and were unfortunate not to be more than just a single goal ahead at the break, while Nigeria assumed control in the second stanza as they first equalised and then threatened to steal all three points.
The draw left South Africa placed fourth in Group C, with four points alongside Rwanda and Benin. Lesotho currently top the table with five points.
Meanwhile, Nigeria have just three points from as many matches.
South Africa coach, Hugo Broos says dropping home points isn’t good for the Super Eagles. pic.twitter.com/WEobuKM4op
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Tricky travels
Much like it always is, the travelling to rival African opposition was subject to a number of headaches which meant Bafana had less than ideal preparation for their clash.
“I have to congratulate my players,” said Broos.
“As you know, or you don’t know, we had a terrible trip to Nigeria. We are only in the country at 2am on Thursday morning. When you see the mentality of the team today you can only be proud.
“It was a tough game against a very good team. In the first half we were fantastic, we had some chances and could have scored to make it 2-0. And we were a bit unlucky that within two minutes of the second half we conceded a goal. Then it is difficult but we fought for it from the 46th minute to the 95th minute and …. I think the result is correct.”
Next up for Bafana is a trip back to Bloemfontein to host Zimbabwe on Tuesday. Zimbabwe currently sit bottom of the group with two points from three matches.