Our squad is undercooked, says coach

Amajita coach Thabo Senong (right) says only half of his squad is ready to play in this Sunday’s Caf Under-20 Afcon qualifier thirdround first-leg match against Malawi at the Moruleng Stadium.

Senong’s statement comes after the side lost 1-0 in a friendly match against ABC Motsepe League side Buya Musuthu on Wednesday after playing a different eleven to the one that drew 3-3 with Zambia last weekend.

“Half this squad is ready to play in Sunday’s match, while the other 50% are not and that’s mainly because some of them come from the off-season and the school’s mid-term breaks.

“That then means they really need to work a lot harder in training. We’ll push them (the other 50%) and I believe the rest of the squad will be 100 percent by the time we play Malawi in the second leg,” said Senong.

“They (Buya Msuthu) gave us a good test because they are also preparing for their upcoming Maize Cup tournament as well. We created a whole lot of chances, however, it was Buya Msuthu who ended up winning the match.

“Yes, we lost the game. however, this match provided us with a whole lot of information regarding our boys who didn’t feature in the Zambia friendly.

“These are the kind of games one needs in order to find the right balance and good combinations for his squad.”

Meanwhile, a new member of the squad, Khanyisile Mayo, who made his debut for Amajita in the Zambia game, believes the squad has what it takes to beat Malawi and says the competition for places is very difficult.

“It doesn’t matter whether I get the nod to play on the day or not. Everybody is just good in their respective positions here and that’s what we need as a nation.

“The competitiveness of this squad is good enough to do the business for us against Malawi this coming weekend,” said Mayo, whose father Patrick is a former international player and whose brother Khanyisa has played for Amajimbos and Amajita.