Bafana Bafana players undermined Congo-Brazzaville in the do-or-die AFCON qualifier that took place on Tuesday, says former striker Andries Sebola.
Hugo Broos' troops had to settle for a 1-1 draw against the minnows in the second fixture between the two nations in the space of four days, having earlier triumphed with a convincing 5-0 scoreline last Friday at home.
READ | OFFICIAL: Knockout blow for Pirates mainstay Ndah
As a result, Bafana, who would have sealed qualification for the 2025 showpiece out in Morocco, had to store away the champagne as they now need three points from their final two games of Group K to confirm their spot.
"They were overconfident after that 5-0, and the artificial pitch didn't help either. Most of our players are not used to that thing," notes Sebola, speaking to KickOff on Wednesday morning.
"Bafana's style of play does not suit the artificial pitch. What I mean by 'overconfident' is they undermined that team.
"On Friday, everybody was committed, but yesterday nobody was committed.
"Yesterday, they were disappointing. The pitch did not suit their style of play, and the temperature didn't make things easy for us.
"But the draw is still a good result taking into consideration that we still have two games remaining. We've got eight points and Uganda have got 10," added the man known as 'Local is Lekker' during his playing days.
The former Orlando Pirates marksman went on to reveal where he thinks things didn't go according to plan for the visitors at Stade Alphonse Massemba-Debat.
"Congo didn't allow Bafana to build up from the back. Bafana's downfall was to stick to their style of play even though it was not working. The artificial pitch didn't allow them to build up from the back.
"The host team, Congo, dominated. Bafana never dominated even for 15 minutes. Congo were always first on the ball. They attacked us with pace.
"They had more chances than us, even the other goal they scored was wrongfully ruled offside.
READ: Bafana made to wait for AFCON qualification
"From the opening few minutes, Hugo Broos realised a draw would be a good result. The second balls were always against us. So, he settled for a draw," explains Sebola.
Bafana's final two fixtures of the qualifying campaign will be played during the November 11-19 international break.