13 October 2019 — Not the best of results, however, South Africa’s National Under-17 men’s team (Amajimbos) will bounce back from their 3-0 defeat against Malawi. 

This is according to Amajimbos’ interim coach Vela Khumalo, who commended his charges for a fighting spirit they showed playing in front of an intimidating crowd in their opening COSAFA Men’s Under-17 Championship Group A match against hosts, Malawi. 

This was also for the first time this newly assembled Amajimbos side played together in an official match, and Khumalo said there were a whole lot of positives to take from this tie building towards their remaining two group matches. 

Up next, Amajimbos will face Zambia on Monday (14 October) at Mpira Stadium. 

That match will kick-off at 11h00.

“Not the best of results to start off the tournament, however, this is a very young group (Under14s & Under-15s) that we are building looking at next year’s U-17 AFCON qualifiers,” Khumalo said. “Their first match was against the hosts in a match venue (Mpira Stadium) which was filled to capacity by local supporters. We played really well in the first half, however, failed to convert our chances. 

“The goal we conceded late in that half was a result of lapses of concentration and I believe that my charges will bounce back from this result.” 

Khumalo added: “This was for the first time this group played together in an official match and I must say that there were a lot of positives we picked up in terms of what we are building on leading up to next year’s AFCON qualifiers. I also believe that we will get positive results in our remaining two group matches.”