Three things we learned from Bafana Bafana’s amazing win over Morocco

Hugo Broos is a brave man and doesn’t bow to pressure

Broos stuck to his guns and put faith in Evidence Makgopa. The Orlando Pirates striker repaid the manager’s trust in him. It would have been easy to play to the gallery and drop Makgopa after he failed to find the back of the net in three matches but Broos had other ideas. Makgopa opened the scoring in the 2-0 win to prove his detractors wrong.

Bafana have earned the respect of their peers

For large periods of the game, Morocco were cautious in their approach. The Atlas Lions were expected to take the game to South Africa, but instead they sat back and allowed Bafana to have the ball. It was the first time in the tournament that the World Cup semifinalists were happy to sit back and try to hit Bafana on the counter. Their approach was understandable because Bafana registered a 2-1 victory over them in the qualifiers the last time the two sides met.

Bafana are solid as a rock

After a shaky start to the Africa Cup of Nations where they lost 2-0 to Mali, Bafana have found their defensive solidity. They have now kept three clean sheets in a row. That is stuff of champions and if Bafana are to go all the way in the tournament, they will need to keep it tight at the back. Grant Kekana and Mothobi Mvala have formed a formidable partnership at the back to shield Ronwen Williams.