Revealed: Al Ahly boss' Tau 'request' after penalty nightmare

Al Ahly manager Marcel Koller has reportedly sent Bafana Bafana attacker Percy Tau a request following his penalty ordeal.  

The 29-year-old stepped up for a spot kick during South Africa's 2-0 defeat to Mali, but squandered the opportunity to get his side on the scoreboard.

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Bafana were awarded the unconverted penalty in the 19th minute and were punished later on in the game when Hamari Traore found the back of the net in the 60th minute and Lassine Sinayoko doubled the lead just six minutes later.

Mali boss Eric Chelle admitted that had the penalty been scored, the outcome of the game may have been entirely different. 

While Tau may have been the subject of criticism by some, his Al Ahly manager is said to have shown him support through a private message. 

According to Egyptian newspaper Al Watan via Sport360, Kohler asked the forward to do his best for his country for the duration of the tournament, and to maintain his focus and enthusiasm despite the horror of missing the penalty.

Pitso Mosimane is another manager who sent Tau some words of encouragement after his ordeal. 

"Real men are not shy to apologise. We have to move on, and we can still qualify beyond the group stages," Mosimane wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).

"We have to play the same or better than the way we played in the first half. Beside the penalty you missed, your aggressive forward runs  were threatening and gave Mali problems."

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