Amajimbos skipper: It’s win or bust for us

Amajimbos got off to an unimpressive start at the Cosafa Youth Championships in Mauritius registering a goalless draw against Lesotho and skipper Constandino Christodoulou (right) has admitted that the morale in the squad was low – but coach Molefi Ntseki has managed to lift it.

After the Lesotho game, Amajimbos went on to beat Mozambique 4-1 before wrapping up their group stages campaign with a 2-1 win over defending champions Zambia. They finished top of Group C with seven points and subsequently booked their spot in the semifinals where they will meet hosts Mauritius at the Stade St Francois Xavier today.

“The spirit was a bit down in the camp, but coach Molefi and his technical team did very well to get us motivated again and get ready for the game against Mozambique. It was evident in that game that we had stuck to our game plan, got the four goals and it showed how much we prepared and are capable of going all the way,” said the Amajimbos goalkeeper.

“I think it has been good so far, we came into the tournament with one objective, which is to win it and right now we are in the semifinals,” he said.

Amajimbos and Mauritius met at this stage last year, but Ntseki’s charges were not able to pull through, losing 2-0. Christodoulou was part of that team and says they are aiming to go all the way and lifting the trophy is the ultimate this time.

“It doesn’t bother me personally and I don’t think it will bother the team either. We know it’s an international tournament and we know we have to be mentally strong. We played against them last year and lost 2-0. We were not happy at all but this time around we have come with one clear objective, which is to win the tournament.

“The standard is a lot higher than last year when we finished fourth, but this year we are aiming to go all the way,” said the skipper.