Hugo Broos hails Tshepang Moremi’s impact in Bafana Bafana's AFCON win over Angola

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos credited the impact of substitute Tshepang Moremi during their 2–1 win over Angola in their AFCON opener at the Stade de Marrakech on Monday night.

Bafana beat the Palancas Negras with goals from Oswin Appollis and Lyle Foster, while Angola pulled one back through midfielder Show.

The Hugo Broos-led side now sit top of Group B, level on points with second-placed Egypt, who beat Zimbabwe by the same scoreline in a later kick-off. However, a win for Bafana looked increasingly unlikely before the introduction of Moremi at halftime in place of Mohau Nkota.

That is why Broos was full of praise for the Orlando Pirates winger, whom he described as a game-changer on the night.

“You feel that there was going to be a goal for the opponent,” said Broos during the post-match press conference. “The goal came, and we didn’t find our game.

“We then made the right changes at half-time. I think Moremi gave a good contribution. He played well, was quick and a threat to the Angolan defence, so that changed a lot of things. We were more aggressive and put more pressure on the opponent.”

Moremi was unfortunate not to get a goal of his own in the second half after his strike was ruled out by VAR, with Foster adjudged to have been offside during the build-up.

“We scored, but Moremi’s goal was offside. I saw it now after the game. There was the shot from (Mbekezeli) Mbokazi, and then you start thinking it won’t happen today. But then you had that beautiful goal from Lyle. I am very happy,” Broos said.

“We can now look forward to the game against Egypt with different circumstances than if we had lost points today.”

Indeed, Bafana will head into their clash against the Pharaohs with less pressure, but Broos will want his troops to be at their best from start to finish after a sluggish first half against Angola.

“As I said before the game, losing your first match gets you into trouble. We tried to avoid that, so we started very well,” Broos said.

“We started well and scored the goal. I don’t know for what reason, but we fell asleep, and Angola came at us with dangerous and better combinations. We suffered because there was no longer enough aggression. There was no passion, and we played slowly.”