Following their hard-fought and much-needed 1-0 win over Tanzania last week, South Africa will now set their sight on their decisive final Group A match against Sierra Leone on Tuesday evening.
The result against Tanzania was Amajita’s first win in the U20 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) after suffering a disappointing 1-0 defeat to hosts Egypt in their curtain-raiser.
South Africa now faces a stiff Sierra Leone test, which has yet to taste a defeat and currently leads their group with four points after two games. The West African Coast side schooled the Egyptians by handing them a 4-1 thumping in their last game.
Sierra Leone playmaker Ibrahim Kamara was the star of the show when he scored a hat-trick and will be one of the players who may just cause problems for the Amajita defence marshalled by Tylon Smith.
Smith, who plies his trade for Stellenbosch FC, admitted that things will not be easy and has since urged South Africans to continue supporting them throughout the competition.
“My message to the South Africans at home is that they must continue supporting us throughout this journey because we need them behind us,” Smith told Sunday World.
“Because we have set a target and goals for ourselves, which are to qualify for the World Cup later this year and win the competition.
“We know it will not be easy, but with their support, we will do our best to make them proud.”
Amajita, who sit in position three on the table with three points, will look to solidify their place in the group to keep their Fifa World Cup qualifying dreams intact.
“Going forward in the competition, we feel that we can do far better than the first game. All we must do is convert the chances we create,” said Amajita coach Raymond Mdaka. “We will give it our all in the next round of matches to ensure we stay on course for the tournament.”
Mdaka will be relying on players like Shakeel April, Mfundo Vilakazi, Gomolemo Kekana, and Smith, among others, to help the team after losing captain Asekho Tiwani through injury and Naledi Hlongwane over registration-related issues.
