The South African under/20 men’s national team (Amajita) began their COSAFA Cup title defence in scintillating fashion when they hammered Lesotho 8-0 in their opening game at Moruleng Stadium..
Amajita ……..(3) 8
Lesotho …….. 0
The South African under/20 men’s national team (Amajita) began their COSAFA Cup title defence in scintillating fashion when they hammered Lesotho 8-0 in their opening game at Moruleng Stadium in the North West Province on Wednesday evening.
Playing some absorbing and total attacking football, Thabo Senong’s charges showed their intent that they want to retain the title the won in Lesotho a couple of years ago.
They raced into a 3-0 first half lead through goals by Itumeleng Shopane, Luther Singh and Wiseman Meyiwa before the rout was completed with some compelling football in the second half.
Man-of-the-match Kobamelo Kodisang could have made it 4-0 just before the break but after a maze run, his final product was not as good as his darting run as Lesotho breathed a sigh of relief.
Nkosingiphike Ngcobo made it 4-0 soon after resumption before two quick goals in a space of a minute saw Menzi Ndwandwe and Sifundo Sibiya further increase Amajita’s lead to six goals.
And individual solo goal by diminutive Sibongakonke Mbatha put the icing on the cake before Achmat Ceres completed the rout with the eighth goal of the night, leaving a beaming Senong a satisfied man.
“I think this victory will give us confidence going forward and this is the type of start to a tournament any coach can dream of. The most important thing now is to instil a sense of discipline among players not to get carried away but maintain consistency,” said Senong.
The youthful coach said he had substituted some of his outstanding players to keep them fresh keeping in mind that the tournament was just in its formative stage and that there were still plenty of games still to be played.
Senong said the bigger picture was next year’s CAF u20 Men’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament scheduled for Zambia.