Cape Town - Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter says he opted for a conservative approach in Monday's 1-0 defeat to Morocco as he was respectful of the Atlas Lions' attack.

Bafana were on the verge of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt before a late winner from Mbark Boussoufa broke South African hearts.

It is the side's second defeat in Group D after Baxter's men lost to Ivory Coast, before a narrow 1-0 victory over Namibia.

Bafana must now hope that results go their way in other groups in order that the national side can move to the next round.

Baxter told reporters: "I would rather not say anything now because I might say something I will regret. I have told the players that I will leave all of the analysis until after the tournament and not tonight (Monday).

"With the situation before the game it was uncertain whether we would need all three points. If we had tested Morocco and played very wide with our backline, they would have enjoyed the game a lot more.

"I thought the players did well in terms of their angles, distances and pressing and defending the crosses. And we had situations, if we had played a lot better in the last third and had concentration.

"There are many ways to win a game of football. Losing in the last few minutes of the game, with a set play that I thought was cheap, then it is not the time to question the players, but to accept a result that we didn't want. We will evaluate later."