South Africa 5 (April 37’, 45’, Ashene 49’, Letlhaku 69’, Mbokazi 75’) Malawi 0
Malawi lost 5-0 defeat to South Africa in their opening fixture of the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations | COSAFA Qualifier in Maputo Mozambique on Friday afternoon.
The match saw Malawi struggle from the outset, with South Africa dominating possession and capitalizing on defensive errors.
South Africa applied all of the early pressure but took 36 minutes to open the scoring through Shakeel April.
Malawi failed to deal with a low cross into the box and goalkeeper Innocent Kamwambi could only clear the ball against his own defender, allowing April to turn and fire into an empty net.
South Africa doubled that advantage just before halftime when April stabbed the ball into the net after Kamwambi flapped at his effort and the ball trickled over the line.
South Africa extended their advantage on 49 minutes when April beat the offside trap and unselfishly crossed for Lee Jody Ashane to tap in at the back post.
It was 4-0 when substitute Kutlwano Letlhaku raced onto a through ball and flicked the ball past the goalkeeper, before Mbekezele Mbokazi converted at the back post to make it 5-0.
Malawi U20 Head Coach Bob Mpinganjira acknowledged the disappointing performance, especially in the first half.
“We must congratulate South Africa for winning, and tough luck for us. We didn’t play our usual game, especially in the first half. We gave the ball away easily and were second on the ball, conceded goals that could have been avoided,” he said.
Despite the defeat, Mpinganjira remained hopeful about the team’s prospects.
“We will go back to our drawing board and rectify out mistakes. We know the players are down and worried, but we will talk to them so that the next game should be better.”
Malawi will have a chance to bounce back when they face Comoros on Sunday, 29th September 2024, at ABB Stadium 2.
LINE UP: Innocent Kamwambi ,Kondwani Tebulo,Precious Kwalenga, Washali Jaziya, Hermas Masinja (Mark Kwalira 67′), Francis Malikebu(Madalitso Safuli 79′),Blessings Kanowa (Masambiro Kalua 55′) , Mwisho Mhango (Benson Makawa 55′), Adiel Kaduya, Happy Mphepo, Misheck Billiat.
