In this keenly contested Africa Cup of Nations match on 17th June 2023, South Africa pipped Morocco in a 2-1 victory that was punctuated by technical defensive play from both sides, but it was ultimately the home advantage that swayed the pendulum in South Africa's favour.

South Africa's superior finishing and capitalization on their opportunities was the main factor distinguishing the two teams. South Africa scored two crucial goals, starting from the first half less than six minutes into the game which set the tone, and the second one coming early second half, just under three minutes in. On the other hand, Morocco only managed to respond with a single goal nearly 60 minutes in.

However, by the time Morocco found their footing and put a goal past South Africa's goalkeeper, South Africa had already established a solid lead, albeit a narrow one. This made it a daunting task for Morocco to level the score, in a game that, statistically speaking, had a low number of total shots on target.

In terms of disciplinary conduct, South Africa fell foul of the referee's whistle more frequently with a total of 6 fouls to Morocco's 2. They further received two yellow cards, one in each half, showing an aggressiveness that might have stemmed from the pressure to secure a win on home ground. On the contrary, Morocco demonstrated better discipline, not succumbing to such pressures and avoided any card offence.

In the tactical view of the game, set-pieces seemed to have played a central role. Although Morocco had twice as many corner kicks as South Africa (4-2), they failed to turn this advantage into goals. Curiously, South Africa displayed a better execution of the offside trap, recording 2 to Morocco's 0, indicating a defensive strategy that may have edged them the victory.

The main differences among the teams boil down to South Africa's early and aggressive goal scoring combined with a stringent defensive strategy. Morocco's failure to leverage on their dominance in corner kicks and their late reaction to South Africa's lead might have cost them the match. This analysis shows that scoring early and maintaining a resolute defence, despite falling foul of the law on a few occasions, can be extremely instrumental in top-flight football matches.

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