Young Zebras eliminated
Following their exit from the COSAFA under 20 tournament, the team coach, Oupa Kowa still believes the team needs more time together. Kowa’s team was eliminated from the tournament following their 1- 0 defeat to Zambia; prior to that, the team lost 1- 2 to Eswatini and only recorded a victory against Mauritius before being eliminated by Zambia in the group stages.
“I think the performance was okay, if we take into consideration that I am new to the team and the length of stay in camp,” Oupa Kowa said in an interview this week.
Moreover, the coach mentioned that his relationship with the team has drastically improved and they are working on acquiring positive results.
“I think the relationships could improve and will as I continue to work with the Team. Besides working and observing the players, I was doing the same with the technical team.
So far so good.”
The team had a few man of the match performances, the coach believes there is an opportunity to turn those 3 man- of- the- match awards, which are all midfielders into victories. “This for me says the quality of players is matching regional standards. The team work is high and must be maintained.”
Nonetheless, the coach said the challenges he encountered while leading the boys to the tournament was to build a strong team.
“The disadvantage was building relationships with boys in such a short time, but this cannot be an excuse for the early exit from the tournament, I expected more from myself.”