No medals, but coach still happy
SENONG: GUINEA DESERVED THEIR VICTORY
SA U-20s await World Cup draw tomorrow.
Amajita coach Thabo Senong is pleased with the overall performance of the team at the Caf Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations, despite not being able to bring home medals from the competition in Zambia.
Senong’s side lost 2-1 to Guinea on Sunday in the bronze medal match. They took an early lead through Portugal-based striker Liam Jordan in the opening five minutes, only for the team to concede an owngoal through Katlego Mohamme minutes later. And after skipper Tercious Malepe handled the ball inside the box, the West Africans sealed the victory from the spot with five minutes left.
“This has been a great tournament and I am very happy all the players got a chance to play. Guinea are a good team and we had chances, especially in the first half where we could have at least had two goals and sealed the match,” said the Amajita coach.
“Unfortunately we conceded an own goal and the penalty, which are part of bizarre things we always try to avoid in the game of football. Congratulations to Guinea. The best team won. They played well and clearly deserved the victory. We made mistakes in the second half after having started well. Such is youth football, they have to make mistakes to be able to move forward.”
The focus now for Senong and his charges will be preparing for the Fifa Under-20 World Cup in Korea Republic in May. The team managed to get to the World Cup after completing the group stages in second position in Group B with six points, one point behind Senegal, who lost the final to hosts Zambia at the National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka.
Zambia, Senegal and Guinea will join Amajita at the World Cup. This will be their first Under-20 World Cup since the 2009 event in Egypt, where they bowed in the last-16 against Ghana.
The official draw for the global event will take place at the Suwon Atrium in Seoul, South Korea tomorrow.