Moroosi Tsiane
MASERU — South Africa claimed their fifth Council of South African Football Association (Cosafa) Under-20 youth championships title in honour of Madiba when they beat Kenya 2-0 in a final played at Setsoto Stadium last night.
Amajita, as South Africa’s Under-20 side are affectionately known, last won the title in 2008.
South Africa cruised to the final after their 4-3 win over Zimbabwe on spot kicks following a goalless 90 minutes while Kenya came into the final confidently after they dispatched Angola by 2-0.
South Africa’s aim was very clear from the word go with the midfield duo of Tlotlo Leepile and Siphelele Lethuli dictating the direction of the play in the middle of the park.
The Ephraim Mashaba-coached side saw lots of the football but their touch on the last third of the pitch was poor, leading Amajita missing many scoring chances.
However Amajita kept on piling the pressure on Kenya’s defence with the pace of the speedy striker Siyanda Ngubo and Nhlakanipho Ntuli, a dangerous pair to their counterparts whenever they had a ball in their possession.
Amajita’s efforts finally paid off in the 32nd minute when Ayabulela Magqakwa tapped in a well taken corner to find the opener for his side.
The match went into the half-time with Amajita leading by a goal to nil.
Kenya came out much stronger in the second stanza and, in search of the equaliser, they introduced Timothy Otieno and Samuel Mburu in place of Enock Agwanda and Anthony Mbugua while Amajita
substituted Fragrie Lakay by Ntandoyenkosi Ngubane to pile more pressure on Kenya’s defence.
Ngubo caught Kenyans on counter attack in the 68th minute and netted into an empty net to wrap up the lead for Amajita after scooping the ball over Kenya’s goalkeeper Peter Odhiambo who just stood helplessly off the goal line.
The East African side found it hard to split a well disciplined defence pair of Magqakwa and Rivaldo Coetzee and hardly made any attempt for a goal.
In a post-match interview Mashaba said he was elated that they have lived up to their dreams of lifting this title to give South Africans something to smile about while still mourning the loss of two national icons, Nelson Mandela and Baby Jake Matlala who both passed on last week.
“I am so happy that we have won this competition like we had promised South Africans that we are going to win it. We have done it for Tata and Matlala.”
He said the spirit of Mandela was with them during the tournament and he gives the credit to his team for a job well done.
“The passing on of Mandela was somehow a blessing in disguise because his passing on meant we had to win this tourney after a long time to make South Africa proud,” Mashaba said.
Kenya’s coach, John Kamau, said he was disappointed that they lost the match. He said his players showed too much respect for Amajita and they failed to come to the party.
“I am very disappointed that we lost the match, we gave them too much space to play the ball and showed them lot of respect.
“We failed to come to the party but I also give credit to South Africa as they displayed good football and they were confident on ball,” Kamau said.
MASERU — South Africa claimed their fifth Council of South African Football Association (Cosafa) Under-20 youth championships title in honour of Madiba when they beat Kenya 2-0 in a final played at Setsoto Stadium last night.
Amajita, as South Africa’s Under-20 side are affectionately known, last won the title in 2008.
South Africa cruised to the final after their 4-3 win over Zimbabwe on spot kicks following a goalless 90 minutes while Kenya came into the final confidently after they dispatched Angola by 2-0.
South Africa’s aim was very clear from the word go with the midfield duo of Tlotlo Leepile and Siphelele Lethuli dictating the direction of the play in the middle of the park.
The Ephraim Mashaba-coached side saw lots of the football but their touch on the last third of the pitch was poor, leading Amajita missing many scoring chances.
However Amajita kept on piling the pressure on Kenya’s defence with the pace of the speedy striker Siyanda Ngubo and Nhlakanipho Ntuli, a dangerous pair to their counterparts whenever they had a ball in their possession.
Amajita’s efforts finally paid off in the 32nd minute when Ayabulela Magqakwa tapped in a well taken corner to find the opener for his side.
The match went into the half-time with Amajita leading by a goal to nil.
Kenya came out much stronger in the second stanza and, in search of the equaliser, they introduced Timothy Otieno and Samuel Mburu in place of Enock Agwanda and Anthony Mbugua while Amajita
substituted Fragrie Lakay by Ntandoyenkosi Ngubane to pile more pressure on Kenya’s defence.
Ngubo caught Kenyans on counter attack in the 68th minute and netted into an empty net to wrap up the lead for Amajita after scooping the ball over Kenya’s goalkeeper Peter Odhiambo who just stood helplessly off the goal line.
The East African side found it hard to split a well disciplined defence pair of Magqakwa and Rivaldo Coetzee and hardly made any attempt for a goal.
In a post-match interview Mashaba said he was elated that they have lived up to their dreams of lifting this title to give South Africans something to smile about while still mourning the loss of two national icons, Nelson Mandela and Baby Jake Matlala who both passed on last week.
“I am so happy that we have won this competition like we had promised South Africans that we are going to win it. We have done it for Tata and Matlala.”
He said the spirit of Mandela was with them during the tournament and he gives the credit to his team for a job well done.
“The passing on of Mandela was somehow a blessing in disguise because his passing on meant we had to win this tourney after a long time to make South Africa proud,” Mashaba said.
Kenya’s coach, John Kamau, said he was disappointed that they lost the match. He said his players showed too much respect for Amajita and they failed to come to the party.
“I am very disappointed that we lost the match, we gave them too much space to play the ball and showed them lot of respect.
“We failed to come to the party but I also give credit to South Africa as they displayed good football and they were confident on ball,” Kamau said.
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