Katlego Sekhu

A 10-man Bafana Bafana bravely gave their all during an enthralling Africa Cup of Nations semi-final against football rivals Nigeria.
Coach Hugo Broos’s men fought tooth and nail to force the match into extra time and eventually the tense penalty shootout after the two teams ended the 90 minutes deadlocked at 1-1. Grant Kekana was sent off in the final minutes of extra time.
William Troost-Ekong opened the scoring for the Nigerians from the penalty spot in the 63rd minute after Victor Osimhen was judged to have been brought down inside the area. Bafana clawed their way back in the 90th minute through Teboho Mokoena, who also beat Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali from the penalty spot.
Egyptian referee Amin Omar awarded the penalty kick after consulting VAR. Bafana Bafana will now play the losing side in the second semifinal against DR Congo in the third-place playoff on Saturday.
Speaking to the media after the match, coach Hugo Bross commended his boys for showing character despite losing to Nigeria.
“I am very proud of the players and the way we have performed, not only today. We played a bad game against Cape Verde and won on penalties (in the quarterfinals), and today we played a very good game and lost on penalties. That is also football, but again, we have to think about the way we played at this AFCON. I know everyone knows South Africa now as a good team.”
Hugo Broos
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