SuperSport United coach Kaitano Tembo praises youngsters after victory

Supersport United interim coach Kaitano Tembo

Supersport United interim coach Kaitano Tembo has reserved special praise for the youngsters in the team after their brave perfomance in the CAF Confederation Cup game against Petro de Luanda on Friday.

Matsatsantsa came from behind to beat Petro 2-1 at Lucas Moripe Stadium, thanks to a brace from former University of Pretoria forward Thabo Mnyamane. The victory means SuperSport, last year’s losing finalists, are just a step away from the group stages.

Tembo gave young players such as Jamie Webber, Darren Smith, Luke Le Roux and Tebogo Mokoena an opportunity against the Angolan outfit and he has pledged to give them more chances to shine in the African club competition.

“Luke and Jamie Webber are very good players. I think it also helps create competition. We got Sipho Mbule who played in Angola, but sat on the bench,” said Tembo.

“These youngsters need competition amongst themselves and that drives them. They need to be pushed a little bit. It gives them confidence playing in Africa. This will build them,” he added.

Matsatsantsa lost in last year’s final to DRC giants TP Mazembe, but Tembo believes they can go one step further this year by winning it this year.

“If you lose in the final, you want to immediately get another chance to go back there again, unlike having to wait for two or three seasons. We lost the final about four months ago and we back in it [the competition] again. That’s all we needed because there’s motivation for the guys and the memories are still fresh,” the former Zimbabwean international said.  – kickoff.com