Bafana Bafana head coach Pitso Mosimane reacted angrily to a suggestion he made a mistake by leaving out central defend Mbekezeli Mbokazi after his side were held to a 2-2 draw by Kenya in a 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Group D qualifier at the Orlando Amstel Arena.

Mosimane and Bafana hit a snag

The result keeps Bafana on top of the group but has left their situation more precarious ahead of a trip to Nairobi on Tuesday to face Benni McCarthy’s Harambee Stars again.

Even though Mbokzazi returned from injury to make the squad for these two matches, Mosimane went with Ime Okon and Olwethu Makhanya in central defence against Kenya. The pair had played together in the opening two qualifiers, conceding just one goal .

But Okon, who has not been playing much lately for his German side Hannover 96, looked shaky at times in Orlando. And while Makhanya was his usual assured self for most of the game, right at the death he failed to deal with a bouncing ball and Ryan Ogam was able to surge away and tie the socres up at 2-2.

“Oh come on guys … you can’t go there, you don’t want me to lose respect of you? Now you choose who must play? We lost because of that or we lost because we missed many chances? Come on, you can do better than what you say.

“And it is the right time to ask by the way, you are right,” added Mosimane, perhaps with a certain sarcasm.”

Mosimane, as he said, preferred to focus on the amount of opportunities Bafana missed against Kenya. Amos Wanjala’s own goal gave them a ninth minute lead, but Michael Olunga’s penalty levelled matters for the away side a minute before the break.

Iqraam Rayners, Tshepang Moremi and Lyle Foster did all wasted fantastic chances to score. Relebohile Mofokeng, meanwhile, hit the post before finally putting Bafana back in front in the 76th minute. But it wasn’t enough.

‘It is about how many chances you take’

“Football tells you that it is not about ball possession or about how many chances you score. It is about how many chances you take,” said Mosimane.

“Kenya showed you don’t need many chances to cause an upset. They few chances they got, they used them.

“If you want to see how many chances we missed, it is serious. I haven’t been around for some time (as a coach in South Africa) and it is welcome home. In South Africa we can miss a lot. It is about taking your opportunities.”