admindefeat against Mali.
Three of his players missed from the spot in the Durban shoot-out.
Igesund, who has been in charge for seven months, said: “We lost with pride, dignity and passion.
“We have proven that we can match anybody. It’s just a pity with penalties — it’s the luck of the draw.”
He added: “If I can say that maybe we have made huge strides, we got better and better as the tournament went on.”
South Africa now turn their attentions to qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. They have drawn their opening two qualifiers and play Central African Republic next month.
Midfielder Dean Furman, who plays for Oldham, impressed with several positive displays but missed one of South Africa’s three penalties
He said on Twitter: “Hurting both emotionally and physically. We gave everything out there. We will pick ourselves up and come back stronger. An experience I will never forget.”
Igesund had been set a target by the South African Football Association of reaching at least the semi-finals.
But despite falling short of that goal, the coach — who has won four Premier Soccer League titles with four different clubs in South Africa — sees a bright future for his young side.
“They came here and matches one of the best teams on the continent and took them to penalties,” Igesund said. “Tonight luck was on Mali’s side. They took their penalty kicks well.
“We played well but we didn’t score the goals, that is unfortunate. We played a team ranked third in Africa and we matched them and dominated them. This team has come a long way not only the way they play but also off the field.”
Bafana Bafana captain Bongani Khumalo said: “We are out of the tournament right now but there are many positives. We have to take what we can and move forward from this experience.”
The performances of the national team did not go unrecognised by government ministers. Zweli Mkhize, the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, said: “We are proud of you. You displayed great sportsmanship. With your excellent performance you have restored the dignity of Bafana Bafana and of the country.
“You did better than many countries that were in this tournament. Do not let this setback put you down, you went down fighting which is what the people wanted to see.”
Meanwhile, Mali coach Patrice Carteron says that patience was the key to beating South Africa in the African Cup of Nations quarter-finals on Saturday.
The Eagles, led by penalty shoot-out hero Soumbeila Diakite, overcame Bafana Bafana 3-1 on spot kicks with the goalkeeper saving twice from Dean Furman and May Mahlangu.
Lehlohonolo Majoro also missed a penalty for the hosts in front of a capacity 50 000 crowd at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, where Cheick Diabate, Adama Tamboura and Mahamane Traore all scored.
“It was an extremely tough match,” Carteron said.
“The South Africans posed a lot of problems in the first half and we had to change the tactics in the second half to get back into the match.
“They pressed us with a lot of energy and pace. But we knew we had to be patient and we had time to fight back.”
“The South African team was very hard on us,” said Carteron.
They played a fast-paced game and as a result, like we did against Democratic Republic of Congo (in the final group game), we conceded an early goal.
“We lost a player (Samba Diakite) early on through injury and that did not help us offensively during the game.
“But I’m happy with the fighting spirit of the players and their ability to come back and progress into the next stage.”
The Malians, the third ranked team in Africa, will now play Nigeria in the last four.
Carteron’s team have now managed to reach the semi-finals in six out of the eight finals they have qualified for.
The French coach played down the anticipation levels in his country, saying instead they that will soak in the moment before beginning preparations for the next game. “The task was very difficult and the expectations were very high,” he said.
“We always play to win.
“What is coming in this competition we don’t know, but what we know is that we are going to the semi-finals. — BBC Sport.
Online Reporter