Tau takes blame for opening day defeat 

By Razeen Gutta

Percy Tau has taken responsibility for Bafana Bafana’s opening Africa Cup of Nations result after missing a penalty in their 2-0 loss to Mali.

The Al Ahly forward had an early opportunity from the spot, with the game still goalless, but skied his attempt. 

The penalty miss left fans asking questions of Bafana Bafana’s intent in front of goal, with Mali going on to score twice in the second half. 

Tau accepted the importance of his miss, telling reporters post-match that it could have changed the game. 

“This is not the start we wanted. If we scored a goal, if we scored the penalty, it could have changed the game,” he said.

“But then we missed it. So, we prolonged the game. If we scored, it was going to change the game.”

Despite the misfortune, the 29-year-old remained optimistic about South Africa’s chances at the tournament. 

“At the moment, it still hurts 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,” he said, looking forward to the remaining games in the group. 

Bafana next take on Namibia on Sunday before facing Tunisia on Wednesday. 

Pictured above: Percy Tau.

Image source: @sportingbet_sa