We made it harder than it should have been – Aubrey Modiba

A deflected effort from attacker Tshepang Moremi handed Bafana the lead in a tense Group B clash on Monday night, before a dramatic encounter unfolded in which The Warriors twice fought their way back into the match.

Modiba admitted the game proved a stern test but conceded that Bafana should not have been made to work as hard as they did.

"It was very important for us to qualify for the round of sixteen, but I think we made it tough for ourselves against Zimbabwe - taking nothing away from their performance."

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Asked which areas needed improving, Modiba emphasised clean sheets and scoring more goals in the knockout phase.

"We have conceded in every game we played so far, so we just need to make sure that we concede less and score more goals, because we haven't scored too many goals either. Hopefully we can rectify a few things to make sure that we go all the way."