Tau takes responsibility, looks ahead after missed penalty haunts Bafana

Korhogo, Ivory Coast: Bafana Bafana star Percy Tau shouldered the blame for the national team’s 2-0 defeat to Mali in their opening AFCON clash, a result marred by a crucial missed penalty in the first half.

With the scores level at 0-0, Tau stepped up to take the spot-kick after Evidence Makgopa was brought down in the box.

However, he skied his effort over the bar, a turning point in the game. “This is not the start we wanted,” Tau said in an interview after the match.

“If we scored a goal, if we scored the penalty, it could have changed the game. But then we missed it. So, we prolonged the game. If we scored, it was going to change the game.”

The missed penalty cast a long shadow over South Africa’s performance, as Mali scored two second-half goals to secure the victory.

The result leaves Bafana Bafana in a precarious position in Group E, where a win against Namibia in their next match is almost essential to keep their tournament hopes alive.

TAU LOOKING AHEAD WITH OPTIMISM

Despite the disappointment, Tau remained optimistic about South Africa’s chances. “At the moment, it still hurts,” he acknowledged.

“But I’ll try and gather myself because we still have two games to play. I still have [hope that we will progress] even though it hurts right now.”

Tau’s missed penalty will undoubtedly be dissected and analysed in the coming days, but the South African vice-captain knows that dwelling on the past will achieve nothing.

His focus, and that of the entire team, must now be firmly on their remaining two matches, starting with the crucial clash against Namibia on Sunday.

“We just have to regroup and go again against Namibia. We know it’s going to be a difficult one again also. But then, it just hurts right now,” Tau added.

“We should have scored a goal. I missed a penalty, which gave them the confidence to keep going. If we scored a goal, it would be a better game; it would change the game entirely.

“We still have six points to play. We’ll give our best. We’d want to go through.”

Bafana will meet a buoyant Brave Warriors on Sunday at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium. Namibia edged Tunisia 1-0 in their opening game on Tuesday.

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