Amajita have qualified for the U20 Afcon tournament following a 3-0 victory over Lesotho in the second-leg qualifier at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium.
The South African U20 have now qualified for the 20th Edition of the African tournament after completing a 5-0 aggregate win over Likuena in Zambia on Saturday.
It was always going to take a monumental collapse by South Africa for Lesotho to overturn the first-leg deficit and although the visitors threatened in the first-half, it was the home side that could have gone to the break leading by at least three goals, reports Safa.net.
In the opening stage of the match both attackers, Sibongakonke Mbatha and Matlala Makgalwa missed genuine opportunities to give the South African side lead in front of goal.
First Mbatha saw his shot blazed over the bar with Lesotho goalkeeper well beaten and moments later Makgalwa’s header was cleared off the line as Amajita launched waves of attacks at the Likuena goal.
Moments before the half-time interval, Makgalwa’s was again denied after his effort was saved from crossing the line as Lesotho’s defence started to show signs of tiring under relentless onslaught by the Amajita.
However, Liam Jordan opened the scoring for Amajita after a well-taken shot hit the back of the net to make it 1-0.
Mbatha was next to get on the scoresheet to make it 2-0 for the home side and 4-0 on aggregate, before South African midfielder Sidney Mtshweni scored the third towards the end if the final whistle.
Amajita head coach Thabo Senong says that his side deserved to qualify for the Afcon after their performance against Lesotho, insisting that their vision for the year 2022 is starting to take shape.
‘We worked hard for this win and I want to thank the Safa leadership of Dr Danny Jordaan for investing heavily in youth programmes and results of all youth teams are there for all to see. Vision 2022 is fast taking shape and this is what is needed for South Africa to be a dominant force,’ Senong said.
‘I also want to thank the Premier Soccer League whose clubs were very cooperative. Together we will achieve a lot.’
Image: Safa website
