The South African national U20 side opened their 2024 COSAFA U20 tournament with a 5-0 hammering of Malawi at the ABB 2 stadium in Motola Mozambique on Friday.
Shakeel April scored a first-half brace, while Jody Ah-Shene, Kutlwano Letlhaku had solitary strikes before Mbekezeli Mbokazi rounded off the scoring to see Amajita go top of Group C with three points. South Africa are followed by Comoros Islands who stunned Lesotho in the group opener. April has now netted four goals in three caps for the junior national team (and ten in his last seven games having scored six in the DStv Diski Challenge so far this campaign).
Amajita started the game well showing intention to score especially in the opening 11 minutes. The opener could have come in the fifth minute, but Lee Ah-Shene was beaten to the ball by the opposing goalkeeper. Four minutes later, Siyabonga Mabena crossed to Shandre Campbell, but the latter missed the target.
Malawi attacker Adiel Kaduya had two threatening shots for his side but was met with excellence from Fletcher Lowe. Campbell was a thorn for the Malawian side, and he found Ah-Sene in the 22nd minute but he couldn’t finish the ball.
Soon after, Raymond Mdaka’s charges opened the flood gates with the Cape Town City man getting on the score sheet twice before the break.
It took just two minutes for the young Flames to pull a trigger, but Kaduya was once more guilty of missing a sitter in 48th minute. They were made to rue that miss chance by Ah-Shene who scored Amajita’s third in the 50th minute, with April turning provider.
Amajita were not done as Mabena set-up Letlhaku to score a fourth one from the bench in the 69th minute, with Mbokazi adding a fifth in the 75th minute.
South Africa’s next match is against bottom-placed Lesotho on Sunday, 29 September. The tournament is a qualifier for the 2025 U20 Africa Cup of Nations with only two sides from the region able to book their places at the continental finals which are also an U20 World Cup qualifier.
