Owen da Gama has not given up hope. The SA national Under-23 coach remains confident that his team has the quality and the ability to finish in the top three of the Olympic-qualifying Eight Nations tournament currently under way in Senegal.
After going down 3-1 to hosts Senegal in their opening game at the Leopold Senghor Stadium in Dakar, the U23s have it all to do. They are back in action on Tuesday when they take on Zambia at the same venue (kick-off 5pm, SA time).
Tunisia defeated Zambia 2-1 at the weekend in the other game in Group A. As things stand, Senegal top the group on goal difference, with three points, followed by Tunisia, also on three. Zambia and South Africa are yet to get on the scoreboard.
The top two teams in the group qualify for the semi-finals. The top three countries at the end of the event qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
While the U23s did well in the defeat to Senegal, with even their west African opponents afterwards admitting they were second-best in terms of performance, it was the usual tale of missed opportunities. And then, to compound matters, the South Africans weren’t at their best defensively, with captain and central defender Kwanda Mngonyama particularly culpable.
“There are no excuses,” said Da Gama. “We all have to shoulder the blame. At the end of the day, we should have taken our chances. People are saying we played well, but you don’t get points for playing good football. Unfortunately, on the day, some players did not pitch up, which had a massive influence on the game and impacted on the rest of the team.
“I think we started very well, took control of the game. We created chances, but then we didn’t score and it motivated them (Senegal) to come at us and they found gaps in our defence.
“But we’ll take the loss as a team, just like we have taken the wins as a team. What we don’t need now is the blame-game or finger-pointing. We have to go back and see what mistakes we made and rectify them. It just wasn’t our day…
“We are obviously disappointed with the outcome, but we will bounce back.”
For Da Gama and his men, Tuesday’s encounter against Zambia is, therefore, win or bust. If they pull off a victory, they are still in with a shot at making the semi-finals.
A boost for the squad is that Orlando Pirates duo Gift Motupa and Menzi Masuku will arrive in Dakar, Senegal, on Monday. The players were in the Pirates squad for Sunday’s CAF Confederations Cup final defeat against Etoile du Sahel in Tunisia.
“Tuesday’s clash against Zambia is a must-win,” said Da Gama. “Tunisia are playing Senegal in the other match, and hopefully that will be a draw to give us a fighting chance. If there is a draw, and we beat Zambia, it will go down to the wire. Fortunately, our fate is still in our hands.”
SA Under-23 fixtures
Tuesday: South Africa v Zambia – Léopold Senghor Stadium (5pm, SA Time)
Saturday: SA v Tunisia – Caroline Faye Stadium (5pm, SA Time).
Wednesday, December 9: Semi-finals.
Saturday, December 12: Third Place Play-Off and Final