Young Africans SC head coach Miguel Gamondi hailed his charges for giving Kaizer Chiefs a football lesson, saying you can’t win international games with inexperienced players.
Gamondi led his charges to a 4-0 drubbing over Amakhosi at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein on Sunday afternoon, courtesy of strikes from Prince Dube, a brace from star man Stephane Aziz Ki and a solitary strike from Clement Mzize.
Chiefs on the other hand were forced into changes as 19-year-old Nkosana Mbuthu, the son of Chiefs legend Patrick ‘Ace’ Mbuthu, slotted in at left-back, while Samkelo Zwane, Mfundo Vilakazi, and Mduduzi Tshabalala were the other three youngsters handed starts by coach Nasreddine Nabi.
The Argentinean mentor and his troops became the inaugural winners of the Toyota Cup, and despite not treating the game as a friendly, Gamondi also reserved advice for Nabi.
“When it comes to the reality, today I think from a tactical point of view, we gave a lesson on what it is to play international match and it’s not easy,” Gamondi told the media after his team’s big win.
“You need to have experience and I think Kaizer Chiefs put in five young players today [Sunday]. But you cannot expect to win at a high level with young and inexperienced players.
“I am not criticizing Kaizer Chiefs but for me, the biggest club is difficult to manage in terms of players but if you created the biggest expectations then you must perform on the pitch.
“There is no excuse. But I did speak with the coach and I encouraged him. There is a lot of work to do. But I also think if you want to compete against a team like [Mamelodi] Sundowns, [Orlando] Pirates or Cape Town City, it is not easy.
“As a coach, you can work inside the pitch during the week but if you don’t have quality it’s going to be difficult,” he added.
The Tanzanian champions picked up their second win on their pre-season tour of South Africa after a 1-0 victory against TS Galaxy in the Mpumalanga Premier’s International Cup, having lost 2-1 against Bundesliga side FC Augsburg in their opening match.
