SA U23s sights firmly set on making the cut for Rio

STEADILY the stars are aligning for Owen da Gama and his South African under-23 team.

Amaglug-glug beat what was effectively a Tanzanian Chan “B” team 2-0 at Eldorado Sta- dium yesterday, in their first kick of the ball since convening for a five-day camp in Johannesburg.

Gift Motupa scored both goals for the Amaglug-glug.

The bigger picture is qualification for next year’s Rio Olympic Games and a third-place finish at the eight-nation tournament in Senegal that starts on November 23 is the vehicle to get them there.

What initially felt like a practice session gained a modicum of life, when Thabiso Kutumela found the net in the 14th minute, after latching onto a Gift Motupa shot. But it was ruled offside. Tanzania retaliated with their target man Raphael Bocco, who was linked to Free State Stars during the off-season, but the gangly striker’s venomous left-foot shot was parried to safety by SA goal- keeper Ricardo Goss. The opener came from a seemingly innocuous entry into Tanzania’s defensive third in the 36th minute.

But when defenders Patrick Yondan and Nadir Ali converged to foul Kutumela, the referee pointed to the spot.

Motupa gave the keeper no chance from the spot-kick.

Motupa’s second came in the 44th minute after a brisk counter-attack by the un- der-23s. Amaglug-glug led 2-0 at half time, looking comfortable and in charge.

Da Gama barely moved from his seat to bark orders, which suggested the players understood their responsibilities on the park. But this was a pressure-free environment and things will be different in Senegal later this month.

Twelve minutes into the second half Tanzania were denied a goal when substitute striker Elias Maguli’s header was disallowed for offside.

As consistent as the weather was hot, Ntshangase continued missing chances at goal.

But this kick-about was, for Da Gama, about going under the bonnet and doing a full and thorough service before the eight-nation championship begins.

On his clipboard he will tick off a few things that are well-oiled: Keegan Dolly’s po- tency, Kwanda Mngonyama’s faultless defending and Motupa’s game-breaking ability.

On the flip side, complacency crept into the second half play as the passes were not as fluent as in the first, and the strikers were blinded when faced with the target.

What Da Gama cannot see until they disembark in Senegal, is the big-match temperament to finish in the top-three and qualify for Rio.