Despite losing their opening game of the Caf Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) clash against Morocco in Group B, Amajimbos coach Duncan Crowie says they had the upper hand in the game.
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Amajimbos were looking for a perfect start to the continental tournament, but it was not to be for Crowie’s youngsters. They lost 2-0 to the Moroccans at the Stade Mohamed-Hamlaoui Stadium in Algeria on Sunday.
The South African junior national team started as the better side and created plenty of goal-scoring opportunities. But, they just couldn’t find the back of the net, going into the break with the score tied at 0-0.
Morocco then got a penalty later in the game and they put it away to take the lead, before getting their second goal in the dying moments of the match.
“It’s not a case of what did not work. A lot of things worked for us. We had the upper hand and more ball possession. We had territorial advantage as well, but unfortunately in the final third we came unstuck, because they had numbers behind the ball,” said Crowie.
“As you could see, they played on the counter and they played with the long ball and two mistakes led to their goals.
“If it wasn’t for those two things and with better control in the final third, we could have created more opportunities.”
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No blame attached
Having conceded a penalty, and following an error at the back that resulted in Morocco getting a second goal, Crowie didn’t want to blame his charges for the mistakes.
“I won’t say a penalty was a mistake, but things like that happen. Nobody handles the ball in the box on purpose, but yes, we made a terrible mistake as far as lack of communication (for the second goal).
“On another day things like that won’t happen,” he added.
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