Amajita exit the World Cup; coach Mdaka praises team spirit
On Wednesday, Colombia eliminated the South African u20 national team from the u20 FIFA World Cup in Chile in the round of 16, after scoring a 3-1 win over Amajita at Estadio Fiscal de Talca.
In the early going, Amajita appeared shaky and nervous at the back and struggled to handle aerial duels. Within the first 10 minutes, the u20 Afcon champions fell behind to a goal from Joel Canchimbo.
Before the end of the half, though, South Africa equalised. Siviwe Magidigidi was fouled in the Colombia box, which resulted in a penalty. Mfundo Vilakazi‘s shot was saved by Garcia Bonnet, but the referee ordered a retake and, given another chance, Vilakazi beat the goalkeeper.
While the possession stakes slightly favoured South Africa, Colombia held a narrow advantage in shots and shots on goal. They turned that into a 63rd minute goal from Neiser Villareal. Then, in added time, he struck again, netting the Colombians’ third to put the result beyond doubt.
Amajita’s coach, Raymond Mdaka, in a press statement to the SAFA media team, admitted it was a tough loss to take.
“It’s a hard pill to swallow,” he said, “more so if you have a team that you believe can get results.”
Mdaka said his team had become accustomed to winning and had forgotten how painful it is to lose. However, he said, he and the players recognise that wins and losses are all part of the game.
Participating in the World Cup had, nonetheless, been a valuable learning opportunity for the team and the technical staff, he added.
Reflecting on the game, Mdaka said Amajita struggled to impose themselves and their style of play early in the contest.
“We were caught with the first goal from the blind side,” he admitted. “I think from there we settled. Then we had a number of chances that we missed, and we had a goal through a penalty. However, after conceding the second and third goals, there is not much to say about it. We said to the boys [keep your] heads up, and we will see what will happen going forward.”
Mdaka also expressed his gratitude for the steadfast support received the from South African supporters during Amajita’s journey.
“We really appreciate the support,” he said. “We always got messages on our phones daily to show that the country was behind us, which was something we needed.
“We want the country to know that we would have loved to play in the quarterfinals, but football being football, we could not. But we want to say to them it will come, and if we continue working hard, with the support, we will represent the country well, and I think we did here,” Mdaka concluded.
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