Despite netting six unanswered goals against neighbours Botswana in a friendly at Soweto UJ Campus Stadium on Saturday, SA Under-20 coach Raymond Mdaka was still critical of his troops' overall application on the day.
Cape Town City's Jody Ah Shene and Mfundo Vilakazi of Kaizer Chiefs scored twice apiece, while Langelihle Phili of Stellenbosch and Ah Shene's City teammate, Shakeel April, were also on target.
The two teams will meet again in another friendly at the same venue on Tuesday as Amajita continue to prepare for the upcoming U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), to be staged in Ivory Coast from April 26 to May 18.
"Not that much [of a good game]. Maybe we played to the strengths of the opponent. The way I know our team, we should have done much better. I think it went to the players' mind to say 'Botswana won't pose much challenge', which is something we shouldn't be doing because we're preparing [for Afcon],'' Mdaka said.
"Sometimes it's fine because we score goals, but we need to apply ourselves seriously because we're going to face challenges if we don't do that going forward. So, we need to do away with the mindset of taking opponents lightly. We must do the right things all the time."
Amajita are in Group B which is seen as the group of death because it has Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco. The four teams to reach the semifinals in Ivory Coast will automatically qualify for the U-20 World Cup as Africa's four representatives.
The U-20 global spectacle will be hosted by Chile from September 27 to October 19 this year.
SowetanLIVE
Amajita coach critical of team's play after 6-0 lashing of Botswana
We need to do away with mindset of taking opponents lightly – Mdaka
Image: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
Despite netting six unanswered goals against neighbours Botswana in a friendly at Soweto UJ Campus Stadium on Saturday, SA Under-20 coach Raymond Mdaka was still critical of his troops' overall application on the day.
Cape Town City's Jody Ah Shene and Mfundo Vilakazi of Kaizer Chiefs scored twice apiece, while Langelihle Phili of Stellenbosch and Ah Shene's City teammate, Shakeel April, were also on target.
The two teams will meet again in another friendly at the same venue on Tuesday as Amajita continue to prepare for the upcoming U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), to be staged in Ivory Coast from April 26 to May 18.
"Not that much [of a good game]. Maybe we played to the strengths of the opponent. The way I know our team, we should have done much better. I think it went to the players' mind to say 'Botswana won't pose much challenge', which is something we shouldn't be doing because we're preparing [for Afcon],'' Mdaka said.
"Sometimes it's fine because we score goals, but we need to apply ourselves seriously because we're going to face challenges if we don't do that going forward. So, we need to do away with the mindset of taking opponents lightly. We must do the right things all the time."
Amajita are in Group B which is seen as the group of death because it has Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco. The four teams to reach the semifinals in Ivory Coast will automatically qualify for the U-20 World Cup as Africa's four representatives.
The U-20 global spectacle will be hosted by Chile from September 27 to October 19 this year.
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