South African Football Association (Johannesburg)
7 December 2011
Coach of the South African Under 20 Men’s national Team (Amajita), Solly Luvhengo, says he is disappointed with the squad’s elimination from the 2011 COSAFA Under 20 Youth Championship currently underway in Botswana.
Amajita lost out on a semi-final spot following a five one (5-1) loss to Zambia in the final Group C fixture played on Tuesday, 6 December 2011 at the Molepolele Stadium in the capital Gaborone.
In their first two group stage matches, Amajita defeated Mauritius four nil (4-0), and then drew one all (1-1) against Tanzania.
“The boys worked really hard preparing for this tournament, and even twice as hard during the event.
This is a huge disappointment even though the players had gained a lot of international experience which should help us when we prepare for the African Youth Championship qualifiers set to begin next year, This was a tough tournament, we gave our best but luck was not our side.
My players lost momentum in the second half of our clash with Zambia and could not get back into the match. We should have scored at least two goals in the first half to be in the driving seat because we created a lot of scoring opportunities.
We need to find ways of converting the chances we make because without scoring we will not win matches and our first match against Mauritius is proof of that. We have to interact with club coaches to deal with this issue as it is of utmost importance,” said Luvhengo.
The South Africans return from Botswana on Wednesday, 7 December 2011.
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