Sierra Leone under-23 National team coach Amidu Karimu has applauded his team for putting up a spirited fight against Zambia on Saturday in the 2023 TotalEnegies Morocco U-23 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers’ second leg match played at the National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka.
Karimu however said the weather in Lusaka on match day, affected his team’s performance as they lost 1-0 to be eliminated from the competition with a 2-1 aggregate scoreline.
“I can say in the first half the weather was not good for us, the atmosphere was not good,” he said.
“But in the second half when everything(weather) was good, we performed well.”
And responding to a question over his earlier statement that Zambian fans were going to motivate his team to beat Zambia in yesterday’s match, Karimu maintained that the crowd helped his team play well and that his players were not intimidated.
“This is football. I like crowds , it motivates players, the Zambians were not harsh on my players,” responded Karimu.
“I think the supporters helped us play well in the second half because when you hear the sound of the supporters , it pushes you more.
“My players were not intimidated because [they have played with bigger crowds than this]” concluded Karimu.
Meanwhile his Zambian counterpart Oswald Mutapa said he was happy his boys progressed to the final round of the qualifiers but believes their is still room for improvement and that the team needs more time to prepare for the next match.
“We came out victorious but again there is too much work that need to be done for us to beat Egypt or Eswatini [in the next round],” he said.
“We need more time for us to prepare and to be able to see the gaps and combination of play which at times is lacking in the team, we need time to do that.
“We are happy that we have moved to the next round but a lot of work need to be done,” said Mutapa.
Zambia defeated Sierra Leone 1-0 through an Andrew Phiri’s 65th strike, five minutes after being subbed on to secure a 2-1 aggregate victory for the Young Chipolopolo boys following a one-all draw in the first leg that was played away in Liberia a week ago.
Zambia will play the winner between Egypt and Eswatini in the final round of the U-23 AFCON qualifiers for a spot at the junior tournament which will also be used as a qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
