Amajita in bid to strike gold
TOUGH PROPOSITION: TERANGA LIONS OF SENEGAL STAND IN THEIR WAY
The South Africans were runners-up to Nigeria in Group A. Tshepo Ntsoelengoe
With the first mandate achieved, Amajita are now looking to go all the way at the Caf Under-20 Afcon in Niger and lift the trophy.
Going to the tournament, the South Africans had their eyes on qualifying for Fifa Under-20 World Cup to be staged in Poland later this year, which they did when they sauntered into the semifinals of the competition after beating Burundi 1-0 last Friday to book their spot at the global competition as one of the four African countries to represent the continent.
Amajita will now face Senegal in the semifinals tomorrow at the Seyni Kountche Stadium and midfielder Luke le Roux admits that it won’t be easy going up against the West Africans, who won all their group matches.
“It is not going to be an easy game for either side. However, we have studied our opponents and we know what to expect from them. The technical staff have been exceptional in preparing this team, and we are ready for the match.
“Now that we have completed the first mission of qualifying, we want to go all the way and see where we end up. Who knows, we may just bring back the gold. It would be a great achievement,” said Le Roux, who scored the only goal of the match against Burundi with a penalty.
The midfielder reveals that he was nervous when he stepped up to take the penalty but he knew that it was important for him to score.
“To be honest with you, I don’t know what came over me when I decided I would be the one taking the penalty kick.
“The nerves were there, however, I knew that scoring that goal would put us in pole position to reach the final four of this tournament,” he added.
“Qualifying for the 2019 Fifa Under-20 World Cup was our primary objective, and I knew we had the capacity to protect our lead, once we were a goal or two ahead. I am just glad we were able to do just that in this match.”
Thabo Senong’s men finished in second place in Group A with five points after three games, while the young Teranga Lions finished on top of Group B with nine points from the same number of games.