SOCCER: Clinton Asary
THE South African under-23 squad’s quest for a place in the finals of the All Africa Games continues this weekend when they visit the mountain kingdom of Lesotho, for the second leg of their second round encounter on Sunday.
South Africa won the first leg 2-0, and our “Young Guns” look set to clinch a place in the final round of qualifiers, against either Malawi or Zambia.
The winners of this game qualify for the finals of the All Africa Games, to be held in Harare during September.
Judging by their first leg performance, the South Africans should have little difficulty in overcoming the Basothos, who were easily outclassed by their more skilful opponents. The South Africans enjoyed so much possession that on occasions they seemed unable to utilise their advantage.
But coach Mich D’Avray is taking no chances, and has announced a strong squad for this weekend’s game.
He has called up Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Frank Makua and Pretoria City striker Kieran Jordan. “Although the side performed well, I am not prepared to take any chances for the second leg,” said D’Avray. He added that Lesotho would be a totally different proposition at home.
A glaring omission is Orlando Pirates defender Mark Fish, the subject of a wrangle. While D’Avray is eager to have the star defender as part of his plans, it seems Pirates would rather have Fish only play for the senior national squad.
A major scource of concern, however, is South Africa’s inability to score goals, a department where, like their sponsor’s logo says, they will have to “pump up their performance.”
It is likely that D’Avray will retain his strike force of Randall Borman and Quinton Fortune, who were the scorers in the 2-0 first leg victory.
What he lacks in skill, Borman makes up for in pace and sheer determination and looks set to emulate the feats of his uncle, Daniel “Dot” Borman, a star striker in the old FPL.
We have yet to see the best of Fortune, who is defnitely one of the best players to emerge from this country and has been on trial at several European clubs.