18 August 2019 — South Africa’s National Women Under-20 (Basetsana) interim coach Simphiwe Dludlu is confident that her side will bounce back from a defeat which she described as a minor setback in their opening All Africa Games football tournament campaign.
Basetsana suffered a 3-0 defeat in their first Group B match against Nigeria at the Stade des Chênes in Sale Jadida, Morocco after arriving a day before the match.
Dludlu stated that the 36-hour long trip to Morocco via Senegal took a toll on her players leading to the first Group B tie.
“I think our girls not having enough sleep, approximately not more than five hours leading to this match, played a part in us not doing well in our first group match,” Dludlu said.
“We had a few decent chances we created in this tie, however, could not capitalise on them because the team was just not sharp on the ball on the day.
“We played against a solid side.”
The coach, though, is confident that her side will find their feet in their remaining group fixture.
In their last Group B match, Basetsana will take on Cameroon on 24 August at the Stade Boubker Ammar, after Zambia, whom they were supposed to play against in their second group match, failed to show up for this year’s All Africa Games Morocco edition.
Dludlu said her side will fight tooth and nail to make sure that they come out with a positive result in that tie.
“The ambition is always wanting to do well in every tournament we participate in,” Dludlu said. “We play Cameroon in our next group match and our goal is to push for a positive result there.”