Traore says Burkina Faso threw away Afcon opener

Burkina Faso captain Bertrand Traore says a lack of game management cost his side in their defeat by Cameroon at the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday.

The Stallions led the Group A clash 1-0, but conceded two penalties before half-time and lost 2-1 to the hosts.

“We had the game and then we threw it away,” Aston Villa’s Traore told BBC Sport Africa.

“We had a lack of experience because we have got a young team.”

The 26-year-old forward admitted “To play in the opening game against Cameroon is not easy. We gave everything and fought to the end, but the only thing we didn’t do well was the game management.”

Traore was culpable for the first penalty, a challenge on Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa which was penalised following a video assistant referee review.

“We gave away two penalties,” Traore said. “The first was a mistake by myself, and the second one we could have tried to avoid.

“We had an opportunity to have three points or at least one point, but the most important thing is to learn from this.

“We still have two games to win and go through. We will do everything to be able to qualify.”

The Stallions face Cape Verde next.