The opening-game defeat to Senegal may have been a blessing in disguise for the South African Under-23 team.
Now they will be alert as another defeat in the Eight Nations tournament in Dakar could extinguish their hopes of featuring in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, says SA Under-23 midfielder Keagan Dolly.
Former Ajax Cape Town star Dolly was one of the SA players who wasn’t quite at his best in the 3-1 loss to the host nation on Saturday, and now Owen da Gama’s side have it all to play for in their next Group A clash against Zambia on Tuesday (5pm kickoff).
They have to win to stay in the tournament as Senegal and Tunisia – who beat Zambia 2-1 on Saturday – top the group. The top two teams from Group A and B qualify for the semi-finals, with the finalists and third-place playoff winners going through to the Olympics as Africa’s representatives.
“There is nothing we can do about the Senegal match, it is behind us. Our focus now is on the Zambia match and the one after that. We are all aware that the next two games are very important if we want to qualify, so we have to start focusing on what’s good for our team, what our strengths are and play accordingly,” Mamelodi Sundowns ace Dolly told the official PSL website on Monday.
“Obviously it is disappointing to start a tournament like this, especially when we have so much quality in our team, and also because when we started this campaign, we were doing well and winning games.
“I think the loss was an eye-opener for us, that the tournament is going to be tough. But we have to regroup. The Zambia match is going to challenge the belief in ourselves and to test if we are really a team. So I think it was good for the team to lose the first game so that we can get our focus correct and start winning games.”
The South Africans made a number of defensive errors that cost them dearly against Senegal, with captain and central defender Kwanda Mngonyama from Maritzburg United conceding a penalty and then being caught ball-watching for Senegal’s second goal.
But Da Gama’s side also had several attacking chances that they didn’t convert, with young Wits sensation Phakamani Mahlambi particularly dangerous with his tremendous pace down the right flank. Mahlambi won the penalty that resulted in South Africa’s only goal at the weekend, which striker Phumlani Ntshangase converted.
SA Under-23 vice-captain Dolly had a few memorable touches, but for a player of his undoubted quality, he would want to impose himself on the Zambians to a much greater extent in midfield and create openings for Phumlani Ntshangase and strike partner Siphelele Ntshangase.
“If you look at our opening match we were in control in the first few minutes, but did not take our chances. Senegal used the two opportunities they got and it was a setback for us to let them score two early goals – it became difficult to get back into the game,” Dolly said.
“We then started playing long balls, which is not our strength, and things just didn’t go our way. But I have belief in this team. Half of the players in our squad play week-in, week-out for their teams, so I still think we can go far.”
@IndyCapeSport