BY Obakeng Maje

The South African Under 20 Men’s National Team (Amajita) coach Solly Luvhengo and his brave band of players can take many positives from their outstanding performances in the 8-Nation International Tournament which ended at the Cape Town Stadium on Sunday, 3 June with Brazil beating Argentina 2-0 in the final.

The campaign had started with Amajita’s 3-1 defeat to Argentina in the opening game. But even Argentine coach Marcelo Trobbiani admitted the score-line had been flattening, and since then, Amajita simply got better and better as the tournament progressed.

Defensive frailties were ironed out and a more clinical touch was found in front of goal. With the exception of the semi-final penalty defeat to Brazil, South Africa remained undefeated for the remainder of the tournament, scoring six goals and conceding three as they beat Ghana, Nigeria and Japan.

They were viewed by many as the most exciting team in the tournament, thanks to their dynamic interplay and breathtaking speed when on attack, and were arguably the better side against Brazil, who were made to sweat for their victory in the semi-final, winning on penalties after the game had ended 2-2 after 120 minutes.

Amajita striker Thabani Mthembu was awarded the Top Goal-Scorer award for his impressive goal tally of five in five matches.

Midfielder Snethemba Ngidi shone throughout the competition with some wonderful attacking play and was amongst three nominees for Player of the Tournament, the accolade however going to Brazil’s Misael Bueno.

The entire squad was in attendance at the post-match press conference, where they were warmly received by the media and given a standing ovation for the pride their performances brought to the nation.

“I felt we were better than them and worked harder,” said Luvhengo of the performance against Japan, which they won 7-6 on penalties after the game had ended 1-1. “At stages we dropped off and allowed them too much space. We should have won the game in the first half.

“When you work so hard you always deserve to get something from your hard work. You saw us celebrating on the pitch. But we were not celebrating third position, we were celebrating the results of hard work,” he added.

It was important that the coach motivate his players after they had narrowly lost out on a place in the final, and judging by another impressive display against the Asian side, Luvhengo had done exactly that.

“I felt we deserved to have been in the final. It was disappointing not to, but I told the players ahead of the play-off against Japan – go and reward yourselves for your hard work (by picking up a medal).

“Sometimes you work hard and you don’t get anything. But I’ll take the bronze medal and build from that.”

Going forward, the Venda-born coach is optimistic that his team will continue to improve and fly the South African flag high in international competition.

“I’m very happy with the work ethic. I’m very happy with the team spirit. I’m very happy with the chances we are creating.

“I’m not happy with the finishing, we must work on that. Maybe at some moments we switch off a little bit. That’s expected at youth level, but as a coach you need to keep your players on their toes and keep reminding them.

“If we get more time together, these actions will start synchronising themselves and we will get much, much better.”