Makoanyane aim for Namibia scalp

Moorosi Tsiane

THE national under-20 Makoanyane XI squad are going all out for win in today’s encounter with Namibia to enhance their chances of qualifying for the knock out stages of the regional COSAFA Cup at Nkana Stadium in Zambia.

Makoanyane, who are under the guidance of Leslie Notši and his assistant, Bob Mafoso, opened their campaign with a goalless stalemate against one of the tournament favourites, Zimbabwe, at the same stadium on Thursday.

Mafoso said the result was a huge morale booster ahead of their remaining matches.

“We always felt it was important to have a good start against Zimbabwe,” Mafoso said, adding, “We are happy with the point that we got because we were playing one of the tournament favourites”.

“That draw showed that we have the potential to always do well against other countries and the team spirit is now very high as a result.”

He said the defence was very impressive and they now needed to work on converting the chances they created.

“The problem that usually occurs when a team defends well is that of moving forward and making use of possession after regaining it. At times we were found wanting and it took us a bit longer to transition from defence to attack.

“We denied Zimbabwe spaces to run into but we should now ensure that we are able to make use of the spaces that this style of play opens us for us. We need to improve on that.

“Namibia are however, a closed book to us so we just need to work hard and push for a win.”

Makoanyane will take on Angola on 12 December at Arthur Davies Stadium in their final group match.