Former Bafana Bafana captain Neil Tovey has come out in defence of the national team’s recent display in their 2025 AFCON opener, challenging critics who labelled the 2-1 victory over Angola a disappointment by explaining that the performance was far from a letdown.
Despite Bafana Bafana kicking off their Group B campaign with a 2-1 victory over Angola on Monday, the mood in Morocco remained critical; coach Hugo Broos and pundits alike welcomed the points while admitting the lacklustre display missed the mark.
Tovey has pushed back strongly against the criticism. The South African football legend believes expectations around dominance at AFCON level are often unrealistic, especially against organised and competitive opponents like Angola.
Oswin Appollis opened the scoring for South Africa before Show levelled matters for Angola. Lyle Foster then restored Bafana’s lead to secure a crucial opening victory.
According to Tovey, winning ugly is often part of tournament football.
NEIL TOVEY: BAFANA BAFANA DID NOT PERFORM POORLY
“I don’t agree that Bafana did not play well,” Tovey told FARPost. “It can’t be one-way for 90 minutes in an AFCON game. There is no chance to control the tempo for 90 minutes.
“Just because we did not control the game for 90 minutes does not mean we didn’t play well. Angola’s goal should have been avoided. That goal into the near post was poor organisation. There was no Bafana defender placed on the near post. It was disorganisation.
“Other than that, I thought we knocked the ball around well enough. We competed, and they competed. Angola were never going to be a walkover.”
While Tovey said total dominance was not possible, the way Broos’ team managed their lead was a letdown.
“It was a good opening game performance. As I said, you will never dominate for 90 minutes. Don’t listen to people that think if you don’t win 3-0, you played badly. It does not work like that anymore. The only thing I did not like was sitting back to allow Angola to play after we scored. No, I didn’t like that,” Tovey concluded.
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