S. Africa woos local crowd

Apart from Rwanda’s U-20 side (the junior wasps), South Africa is one other team that has garnered huge support from the local crowd at the on-going 16th African Youth Championships and the reason is simple; they have displayed the best football in the competition so far. The youngsters, coached by Serame Letsoaka, took Stade Regional by storm on Thursday when they humiliated pre-tournament favourites Nigeria 2-1. This victory coupled with a similar score line win in their opening game against Ivory Coast left South Africa top of Group B with six points and consequently pushed them into the semi-finals; the first team to progress to this stage in the competition. Although Nigeria’s Captain Haruna Lukman failed to convert from the penalty spot in the 3rd minute, Flying Eagles’ forward Uchebo Ukechukwu put Nigeria ahead on the 70th minute after tapping in from close range. However, two goals in a space of four minutes turned the game in South Africa’s favour. First, Bhengu Phemulele equalized from the spot kick in the 74th minute after a challenge on Masango Mandla in the 18-yard box. Four minutes later, Man of the Match George Maluleka scored the winner with a powerful shot, arguably the best goal of the tournament so far. South Africa wind up their Group matches on Sunday with a tie against Egypt. Even though they are through to the semi-finals, Letsoaka is expected to treat the game seriously as he bids to preserve his unbeaten run. “We shall not take the Egyptians for granted because we want to win all our games,” the South African coach said. He also warned his players to keep their feet firm on the ground insisting that the task is still incomplete. “First, we wanted to get to the semi-final and now that we have qualified, we now want to try and go all the way,” he added. Ends

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S. Africa woos local crowd