Namibia coach Collin Benjamin has revealed how his team lost against Bafana Bafana on Sunday in their 2023 AFCON Group E encounter at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium.
The Brave Warriors suffered a 4-0 defeat as the 1996 African champions were clinical in front of goal and on rampage mode.
The defeat left Group E wide open with a lot to play for in the final group stage matches. Namibia and Bafana are both on three points after two games. Namibia will face Mali on Wednesday, 24 January, while Bafana will take on Tunisia. Mali, at the top of the table, has four points, while Tunisia has one point,
Percy Tau scored a penalty before Themba Zwane’s brace in the first half, then Thapelo Maseko made it four in the second half.
COLLIN BENJAMIN SAYS NAMIBIA LOST THE MATCH ON TRANSITIONS
Benjamin admitted that their opponents were a better side, saying his side was lacking on transitions and on second balls.
“Our transitions were not so good; second balls also, we couldn’t manage that,” said Benjamin. “We were afoot late on the second balls, so the transitions were the ones that killed us after that.
“I think it’s a lesson; I suppose it always happens at the right time because we still have a game against Mali.”
Benjamin further bemoaned the penalty that was awarded to Bafana in the first half. He believes it was the turning point of the match.
“I think it was a bit unnecessary. It was not meant to happen. If you see a penalty like that in the 12th minute, I think after that we really didn’t recover.
“Obviously, if you take a lead in the 12th minute like that, it makes their players have confidence. It’s one step that you wouldn’t think and it was kind of late for our guys, the second goal came minutes later,” he added.
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