Mozambique boss Victor Matine has reacted to his side's stalemate with Bafana Bafana in their opening COSAFA Cup encounter.
The action kicked off at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Wednesday evening, and while his side would have been disappointed after going into the game with the intention of winning, the Mambas' head coach remained optimistic.
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Helman Mkhalele's men had considerable opportunities in the first half, even hitting the upright in the early stages of the game.
The breakthrough, however, eventually came when Rushwin Dortley found the back of the net after pouncing on a ball played in behind the Mozambique defence in the 39th minute.
The equaliser then came through a thunderous long-range strike by substitute Chamito Labarina Alfandega just after the hour mark.
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The goal was enough to see the Mambas walk away from the encounter with a point.
According to Matine, his side were competitive in the second half in a performance he seemed to be proud of.
"I am so happy because the players tried to do what we trained for, and we told them to have confidence in this game, and to respect South Africa," he said, per SAFA's official website.
"But you must be competitive, and we did it in the second half."
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Mozambique's next challenge will come in the form of Eswatini on Saturday afternoon, and with Group A still there for the taking, both sides will be looking to get their hands on the three points.
Bafana, meanwhile, will take on Botswana on the same day.
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