10-man Mozambique crush Amajita’s Afcon dreams

Amajita’s dreams of qualifying for the Caf Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations were shattered by Mozambique, who beat them 2-1 in the semi-finals of the Under-20 Cosafa Cup at Somhlolo Stadium in eSwatini on Friday.

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The loss meant that South Africa have failed to qualify for the Afcon as only the teams who have reached the final of the Cosafa Cup get a spot at the Afcon.

Amajita started the match well, with the South Africans enjoying much of the possession and they could have scored two goals through Prince Manku and Puso Dithejane early on in the game, but they couldn’t find the back of the net.

While Amajita looked impressive on the ball, Mozambique were able to score with their first real chance of the game just 10 minutes into the match thanks to Chaimito Alfandega.

The Mozambicans would go on to register their second goal of the match with skipper Amido Keyns making it 2-0 and putting South Africa under immense pressure to chase the game.

But, Amajita didn’t put their heads down as they went in search of goals.

The goal did come with some magic through a beautiful pass by Mduduzi Shabalala, who spotted Wandile Duba’s run and the strike made no mistake beating Mozambique goalkeeper Aden Dreyer with a low-shot.

The first half would end with Amajita still looking for the equaliser, while their opponents had to finish the half with one man down after Calilo Traore had to take an early shower after his second yellow card in the game.

The opening minutes of the second half was a bit balanced, with Mozambique looking eager to wrap up the game by getting their third goal. Meanwhile, for South Africa, it was all about throwing everything at their counterparts to level the score with chances coming their way.

Duba and Manku had some good clear-cut chances, but they were wasteful in front of goals.

The match would end with the defending champions getting a chance to lift the Cosafa Cup for the second consecutive time as they reach the final, while Amajita’s hopes of doing well at the tournament got crushed.