South African U17 Women’s National Team (Bantwana) head coach, Simphiwe Dludlu, believes there were great moments in her team’s 3-0 loss to Ethiopia in the first leg of a third round FIFA U17 World Cup qualifier at Wits Stadium on Friday, 15 April 2022.
Dludlu reveals her players were nervous going into the match as this was their first ever qualifier following the cancellation of their qualifiers against Kenya in March 2022 and has taken away the positives from their loss.
The starting formation for South Africa's (Bantwana) in their 1st leg @FIFAWWC qualifier against Ethiopia
Catch the action live on @SPORTATSABC and Channel 124 on Openview#WomenWhoCan pic.twitter.com/pqnW3Av85y
— SAFA.net (@SAFA_net) April 15, 2022
“Finally, my 15/16-year-olds got a chance to get their first international caps and all of them are in tears because they lost and think they didn’t do well. Until we get to watch the match [later], they will see that there were a lot of great moments that are not expected from 15-year-olds.”
The South Africans managed to hold their own in the first 15 minutes of the match as they created chances but failed to convert.
Eyerus Tulu scored the opener for the visitors on the 15th minute mark after a blunder from the South African goalkeeper Kgomotso Musimango.
“We lost the game because of the maturity of the opposition, their stature and fluidity (how they play),” added Dludlu.
“We fought, we ran for everything, we created chances but because our young players are not match fit at that level, we couldn’t capitalise on certain opportunities.”
Ethiopia extended the lead in the second half with goals from Emush Dandamo and Kumneger Kebede to go home with the advantage ahead of the second leg to be played in the beginning of May in Ethiopia.
Photo 1 Caption: South African U17 Women’s National Team (Bantwana) head coach, Simphiwe Dludlu, believes there were great moments in her team’s 3-0 loss to Ethiopia in the first leg of a third round FIFA U17 World Cup qualifier at Wits Stadium on Friday, 15 April 2022. Photo: SAFA (Twitter)
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