NDOLA, Zambia – When a team leads 2-0 at halftime, they are expected to go on and win the match. But in Ndola, Zambia, on Thursday night South Africa's Under 20-team, Amajita, threw away a two-goal halftime cushion to lose 4-3 to Senegal in their second Group B in game of the Under-20 AFCON.
South Africa now have to beat Sudan in their final match in Lusaka on Sunday (3pm) to progress to the semifinals and qualify for the Fifa Under-20 World Cup in May.
Senegal's head coach Joseph Koto was delighted. "We played a good match. I congratulate my players for the great performance. The team spirit was high. The entire Senegalese population is behind the team and that motivated the players to fight for the positive result. "We missed a lot of chances too but the players made the difference on the pitch.
They were determined to win and were mentally strong and composed. I was impressed with the performance as they played to our expectations. "Our objective remains one match after the other.
We are looking forward to the match against Cameroon and we hope to give another impression of our team." Thabo Senong, head coach of Amajita, bemoaned South Africa's poor defence.
"It was a good match but we defended badly. Also, we made fouls in dangerous areas and Senegal scored from a set piece. It was a disappointing second half. We have to pick ourselves up. We are not out of the competition. We are still in. "We have to work on our defence and play better against Sudan. The lesson has come at the right time.
"We have to remain positive and focused for the next match against Sudan. It is going to be our toughest game so far. We have to make sure we win and stay in the competition. We have to prepare and go all out." The Man-of-the-Match was Senegal's Ousseynou Diagne.