Percy Tau's missed penalty for Bafana Bafana in their loss against Mali was a big talking point but former Bafana Bafana head coach Pitso Mosimane has suggested where Hugo Broos got it wrong tactically.
Bafana's 2-0 defeat to Mali in their Africa Cup of Nations Group E opener was a bitter pill swallow after Tau missed a penalty early in the first half.
Broos' charges also created a number of good opportunities in the first stanza but were let down by their finishing.
READ | Broos weighs in on Bafana's penalty drama
South Africa were a completely different team in the second stanza, as they played second fiddle to the Eagles and conceded two goals.
Mosimane suggested that Bafana could not raise their game in the second stanza partly due to wrong substitutions.
The former Al Ahly coach has questioned why Themba Zwane was substituted in a moment of the game that required skilful players to break Mali's low block and feels even the substitution of Zakhele Lepasa off the bench was also routine and was not what the game required at that time.
"We were a better team in the first 45 minutes, everything changed when Mali got the goal early in the second half, we became emotional a little bit because we're human beings, now we changed to play differently," Mosimane said on SuperSport TV.
READ | Calculations and 'if' again for Bafana?
"And then the second goal comes and then we lose the tactical shape, tactical organisation, Mali sits in and we have a player like Lepasa (coming on), who is very quick to play on a break but when Mali is sitting in, that's not the right player to help us.
"He can help us on a break like a (Peter) Shalulile to play out you know, Themba Zwane is also not there (was substituted) but we want to break the ice, the block, you must have players who can break the block but we substituted maybe because we substituted (for the sake of substituting)," he added.
Bafana will be back in Group E action when they face Southern African neighbours Namibia on Sunday evening.