AFCON: Marvelous Nakamba sorry for costly error

Zimbabwe captain Marvelous Nakamba has taken responsibility for his handball that gifted Bafana Bafana a winning goal at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Morocco on Monday.

Marian ‘Mario’ Marinica’s men seemed to have done enough to, at least, snatch a point from the hectic Group B match. The Limpopo derby produced everything one can ask for–a comedy of errors, wonderful goals, deflections and an own goal on either side of the pitch.

In the end, with the game seemingly petering out to a two-all draw, Nakamba handled the ball while clearing a goal-bound effort very late in the contest. Orlando Pirates’ playmaker Oswin Appollis converted the resultant penalty kick for South Africa to advance to the AFCON round-of-16.

In a post-match interview with the international media, the Luton FC midfielder admitted that his moment of handball madness cost Zimbabwe a point and a possible place in the next round.

“I have to man up, accept the mistake, and say I am sorry for the mistake I made. I am sorry to everyone in Zimbabwe, to my teammates, and everyone,” the England-based skipper said.

Zimbabwe Captain Nakamba finds Positives in Zimbabwe’s AFCON Exit

Despite exiting AFCON prematurely, the former Aston Villa FC player drew positives from Zimbabwe’s performances at the tournament.

“Hopefully, we can learn from the mistakes and soldier on,” Nakamba added.

Zimbabwe needed a win at all costs to salvage something from their bid for a place in the round of 16 of the continental competition.

However, despite fighting back through goals from Motherwell FC striker Tawanda Maswanishe and Mamelodi Sundowns’ defender Aubrey Modiba’s own goal, Hugo Broos’ men prevailed courtesy of Appollis’s last-gasp penalty after earlier goals from Lyle Foster and Divine Lunga’s own goal.