Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba is a happy man after his side, the South African Men’s Under 20 National Team (Amajita), qualified for the semi-final of the 2013 COSAFA U20 Youth Championships currently underway in Lesotho.
Mashaba was speaking after Amajita’s 0-0 draw against Namibia on Tuesday, 10 December 2013 in the capital Maseru.
The result was enough to see South Africa through to the last four where they will face Group D winners Zimbabwe on Thursday.
“It was a very difficult match because they came with a game plan which almost worked for them as they nearly punished us in the 15
th minute. But second half we came back strongly and kept them at bay. I am glad we have proceeded to the semi-finals as this now widens our opportunity to lift this trophy. The boys performed very well once again, and credit should go to them,” said Mashaba.
“We have Zimbawe in our next match so we have to work extra hard to ensure we make the finals. I am confident though that we will get positive results even though they will try to make it difficult because every team that plays us really comes strongly, and I like that as it helps my players grow.”
South Africa finished top of Group C with seven points from three matches – two points ahead of Namibia (both sides haven’t lost so far in the competition). Amajita started with a 4-0 win over the Seychelles. They followed that up with a 1-0 victory over defending champions Zambia before wrapping it up with the goalless draw against Namibia.
Zambia could only manage four points while the Seychelles did not register a point and conceded 10 goals, scoring only one.
“This was much-needed qualification for us. Our country is going through a dark period following the deaths of former State President Nelson Mandela and boxing legend Baby Jake Matlala. Imagine if we had come with negative results, we would have been sadder, more so because the people back home are starting to heal while we have to focus on the tournament,” added Mashaba.
The winners of Group A, Kenya, will face off against the top side in Group B, Angola, in the second semifinal
Both games will be played in Maseru on Thursday.
This is how they finished:
GROUP STANDINGS
GROUP A
P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1. Kenya 3 2 1 0 8 2 +6 7
2. Lesotho 3 1 2 0 6 3 +3 5
3. Comoros 3 0 2 1 3 5 -2 2
4. Mauritius 3 0 1 2 0 7 −7 1
GROUP B
P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1. Angola 3 2 1 0 10 4 +6 7
2. Mozambique 3 1 1 1 8 4 +4 4
3. Madagascar 2 0 0 2 1 11 -10 0
GROUP C
P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1. South Africa 3 2 1 0 5 0 +5 7
2. Namibia 3 1 2 0 3 2 +1 5
3. Zambia 3 1 1 1 5 2 +3 4
4. Seychelles 3 0 0 3 1 10 −9 0
GROUP D
P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1. Zimbabwe 3 2 1 0 6 2 +4 7
2. Botswana 3 1 1 1 4 5 -1 4
3. Swaziland 2 0 0 2 1 4 −3 0
TOP SCORERS
5 – Manuel Afonso (Angola)
4 – Clesio Baque (Mozambique), Joao de Oliveira (Angola)
2 – Enock Agwanda (Kenya), Tumelo Khutlang (Lesotho), Unobatsha Mbaiwa (Botswana), Walter Musona (Zimbabwe),
Siyanda Ngubo (South Africa), Nhlakanipho Ntuli (South Africa), Thatayaone Ramatlapeng (Botswana), Timonah Wanyonyi (Kenya.-TDN
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