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Mkhalele rues missed opportunities
"Our boys showed a lot of character to bounce back each time we were a goal down," added the SA Under-20 head coach.
Helman Mkhalele, coach of South Africa, during the 2020 COSAFA U20 Championship match between South Africa and Zimbabwe on the 03 December 2020 at Isaac Wolfson Stadium, Port Elizabeth/ Pic: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
Amajita coach Helman Mkhalele praised his charges’ fighting spirit, but regretted their wasted chances in their opening Group A game of the men’s Under-20 Cosafa Championships, which ended 2-2 against Zimbabwe on Thursday at the Wolfson Stadium in Port Elizabeth.
READ MORE: Late drama on opening day of Cosafa Under-20 Champs
The South Africans had to come back twice in the game in order to ensure that they got something from the match.
It wasn’t a good start for Amajita as Zimbabwe took the lead just before 10 minutes of play through Panashe Mutimbanyoka.
Oswin Appollis equalised for the hosts, but Zimbabwe took the lead again through Lexington Mujukoro.
It took the last stages of the game for the South Africans to walk away with a point from the game as Mohlala Makola made it 2-2.
“It was a tough game because we all know that when these two nations meet, we always try to outplay each other in order to get the result. How we conceded the goals with two set plays it’s one of the weakest points we have. But throughout the match, my team controlled the game and we more happy with the fact that we entered the final third, that made me happy. The only thing I wasn’t happy with is our finishing because we created lots of chances, yet we couldn’t make use of them.
“For us it is to go back and analyse the next opponents … We don’t have enough time to work on our mistakes, especially on how to deal with the set plays because that’s how we conceded. And on the finishing also … our boys showed a lot of character to bounce back each time we were a goal down.”
In the other Group A match, Mozambique were able to edge Lesotho 1-0, giving them three points and they find themselves topping the log after the opening matches while Amajita and Zimbabwe are level on one point.
Mkhalele’s charges will be looking to register their first win of the competition when they take on Lesotho in their second game of the tournament on Saturday.
You can watch all the action from the Cosafa Under-20 Championships right here on Phakaaathi TV.
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