Marouane Chamakh insists Morocco will put the disappointment of losing 2-1 to Tunisia on Monday night by bouncing back against Gabon on Friday.

He told the Goal website: “We needed to win our first game to ease the path towards the rest of the completion…we tried our best but Tunisia were a better side.

“We tried our best. Tunisia were strong and competitive. They had a very good defence and goalkeeper and they did not let us develop play in the midfield.

“You know, a meeting between the two north African sides is always a cracker, and maybe we will learn from this once more.

“To me, I played my game,” he said. “I tried to contribute my quota of energy to push forth the team, but it didn’t work out.

“Losing a match doesn’t mean one did not perform well. So many things can be the cause.  “We’ll concentrate on our game bearing in mind that any further fumbling will push us out of the competition. Morocco will bounce back.”

Marouane Chamakh insists Morocco will put the disappointment of losing 2-1 to Tunisia on Monday night by bouncing back against Gabon on Friday.

Khaled Korbi and Youssef Msakni netted for the Carthage Eagles before Houcine Kharja’s 86th-minute effort staged a mini comeback at the Angondje stadium in Libreville.

He told the Goal website: “We needed to win our first game to ease the path towards the rest of the completion…we tried our best but Tunisia were a better side.

“We tried our best. Tunisia were strong and competitive. They had a very good defence and goalkeeper and they did not let us develop play in the midfield.

“You know, a meeting between the two north African sides is always a cracker, and maybe we will learn from this once more.”

Chamakh received criticism for his limited impact in the game, but the Gunners frontman felt he did his best to help Morocco succeed.

“To me, I played my game,” he said. “I tried to contribute my quota of energy to push forth the team, but it didn’t work out.

“Losing a match doesn’t mean one did not perform well. So many things can be the cause.”

Ahead of their second clash with co-hosts Gabon, Chamakh concluded that they will do their utmost to put defeat out of their minds and focus on picking up all three points.

“We’ll concentrate on our game bearing in mind that any further fumbling will push us out of the competition. Morocco will bounce back. Our objective will be to pick up three points and then top off our qualification against Niger.”