It looked as if Arrows would be taking a 1-0 lead into the second leg of the MTN8 semi-final only for substitute and new signing Pavol Safranko to level matters six minutes from time and in the process grab a crucial away goal, which gives the Brazilians the momentum going into the second leg.
"Difficult game against a very good side," Mokwena told SuperSport TV.
"A wounded side that lost against SuperSport. Good resilience from our team. Very good fight. Very good character and very important not to lose because it allows us to keep going and prepare for the second leg."
Mokwena then bemoaned the bad weather for preventing his side from being able to play their usually fluid passing game, while also revealing the tactical change which led to the fightback.
"We changed things a little bit," said the Masandawana mentor.
"We went with Kutumela and Pavol. We tried to change the structure slightly. It allowed us to keep them. Also the conditions didn't help much. We don't want to make excuses. We are a passing team. When you play against the wind, especially in the first-half, your build ups are a little bit compromised.
"We got the equaliser and the away goal, which is very important and extremely crucial."