Bantwana head coach Ntombifuthi Khumalo was graceful in defeat as her side were eliminated from the on-going COSAFA U17 Girls Champions in Gauteng.
South Africa who were the defending champions went into their final Group B match needing at least a draw against Madagascar who they lost to, to progress in the competition. However they lost 1-0 to Malagasie conceding inside 10 minutes while squandering their own chances to get something from the game at UJ Soweto stadium on Monday.
The host nation finished second in the group with six points and could not even go through as best runner-up as they had an inferior goal difference to debutants Lesotho. Khumalo says this is how the players will learn at international level
“In football if you win all the time you never learn,” said Khumalo after the match.
“This is our best learning lesson. To lose this game they will come back and know that when you play such competitions you need to be more confident and not fear anyone because if you remember how we conceded the first goal it was a corner. We knew that they were good on set-pieces especially the corners because how they play they use their right winger and cross balls then our goalkeeper hadn’t gained the confidence in the first five minutes of the game”.
