31 July 2019 – The South AfricanU20 Women’s National Team (Basetsana) won 7-0 against Eastern Cape Sasol League side Sophakama Ladies on Tuesday night, in a training match ahead of the start of the first edition of the COSAFA U20 Women’s Championships.
Dludlu gave all players a run in a game of two halves that impressed her, as the players managed to implement most of what they have been working on in training.
The Tournament Coach also touched on how proud she was of the players for obeying the fundamentals of the game and managing to bring the best out of each other, while converting goals and not conceding.
“We have a few things to still work on before we face Zimbabwe on Thursday, but I am very impressed with the players and how they managed to follow instructions and keep the fundamentals of the game.
The first half was very good because although the players that we fielded hadn’t been together for a while they managed to read each other’s movements and support each other where necessary.
The second group took a bit longer to settle but once they did they were exceptional,” said Dludlu.
“I am happy with the progress we are making and the fact that we managed to score goals without conceding. Although we played a side that was not the strongest we will face in the COSAFA Championships, I believe we have something we can build on while we try to bring out the best in the player,” concluded Dludlu.
Basetsana are in group A of the COSAFA U20 Championships and will take on Zimbabwe, Namibia and Mozambique on their quest to lift the maiden trophy.
Their first match will be played at Gelvandale Stadium at 14h00, on Thursday 1 August 2019.