Bafana Bafana midfielder Hlompho Kekana has opened up on the tactical instructions of head coach Stuart Baxter after their last-minute AFCON 2019 defeat to Morocco.
South Africa looked poised to seal a passage way in the knock-out stages via a third-placed finish with the scores at 0-0 heading into second-half extra time.
With four points, Baxter's side would have been in the last-16 before the final Group fixtures on Tuesday, with a tie against Madagascar or Egypt.
While the Atlas Lions were already cruising as Group D winners with the scores level, they pushed further in the dying stages and found a stoppage time winner through 34-year-old playmaker Mbark Bousouffa.
And Kekana has sought to explain what the coach instructed the side after a promising opening half against Herve Renard's side.
"Well, we wanted to score [that was instructed], as we saw it was open for everyone and we stood a chance of scoring because at times we looked threatening when we ventured near their box," he said after the game. "It was sad that we didn't get that clear chance.
"It was just unfortunate the we conceded that late free-kick, I think it was soft, more than anything it was just unfortunate that we can conceded the goal."
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Asked whether the side played too deep in the final stages of the thrilling clash; "When you play this kind of games, there's a time where you will dominate possession and there's a time when you need to track back for your opponent.
"It was an open game to be honest, where both teams probably deserved to win the match."
Bafana Bafana will now await the results of Angola, Mauritania, Benin and Guinea-Bissau - who will all need to lose or draw for Baxter's men to advance to the last-16.