Senong rues lack of power

Amajita coach Thabo Senong (above) said his boys fought hard in their 1-0 semifinal loss to Senegal at the Seyni Kouche Stadium in the Caf 2019 Under-20 Afcon in Niger on Wednesday.

South Africa were hoping to reach a second final of the continental youth competition in their history, but now only have a thirdplace match against Nigeria on Saturday. Still, they will be glad that they managed to qualify for the Fifa Under-20 World Cup, to be hosted in Poland in May.

Talking about the loss to the Teranga Lions, Senong says his team lacked power in attack, but was proud of their efforts throughout the tournament so far and believes they will improve as they look to the World Cup.

“Tough luck to my boys, I am still very proud of them I think we played good football and had good organisation. They got a bit tired in the final 20 minutes. We brought on fresh legs but it didn’t work out,” said Senong.

“We didn’t have enough power on the attack to create more chances but I’m still proud of them. And I still think we will get more time to prepare and this team will improve, especially with the fact that we are going to the World Cup.”

Going into the Nigeria game, the sides met in the group stages of the competition earlier and drew 0-0.

Senong said he would use this match to give other players a chance to get some action.