AFCON 2023: Pitso Mosimane Backs Percy Tau After Penalty Miss in South Africa vs Mali

• Percy Tau's penalty miss against Mali is still the talking point after South Africa's defeat
• The Al Ahly star was downhearted after the game he feels his penalty would've changed
• Pitso Mosimane has sent a lovely message to Tau to commend him for his apology

Former South Africa coach Pitso Mosimane has sent a message of support to Percy Tau, who missed a penalty in their 2-0 defeat to Mali.

Tau had a chance to give Bafana Bafana the lead in the first half but skied the effort before Mali took over in the second half to secure maximum points.

After the referee made the decision to award the 1996 champions the penalty, it looked like Teboho Mokoena would be the one to take it.

However, Tau took it but inexplicably missed. It was a huge moment in the game for South Africa, who had the momentum.

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Their intensity drastically dropped in the second half, and Mali pounced. Hamari Traore and Lassine Sinayoko scored in the space of six minutes to hand Hugo Broos' side a painful defeat.

Tau was thinking about the penalty miss after the game.

“At the moment, it still hurts,” he said. “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.”

Pitso Mosimane's message to Tau

After watching Tau's post-match interview, Pitso Mosimane responded through social media. The former Mamelodi Sundowns boss pointed out the positives in Tau's performance.

"Real men are not shy to apologise. We have to move on, and we can still qualify beyond the group stages. We have to play the same or better than the way we played in the first half. Beside the penalty you missed, your aggressive forward runs were threatening and gave Mali problems."

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Tau and company will need to regroup quickly and prepare for a huge clash against Namibia on Sunday. They'll need maximum points against Brave Warriors to have a chance to progress.

Namibia got their first-ever AFCON win after beating 2004 winners Tunisia, the biggest upset in the tournament so far, per CAF.

South African fans blame Xulu for Mali defeat

Sports Brief earlier reported on Bafana Bafana fans directing their blame towards central defender Siyanda Xulu after their loss to Mali.

He gave away a foul right on the edge of the box which resulted in Mali's first goal. He was also outpaced and outmuscled by Sinayoko, who scored the second goal.

Fans were not happy with Xulu's performances and Broos for picking the defender.