Amajimbos announced their arrival at the 2017 edition of the U17 Cosafa Cup with a 3-1 victory over Mozambique in their opening match on Friday, writes Dylan Appolis.

A brace from Mohammed Shahabodien and a second half goal from James McFarlene handed the South African U17 side a much-needed confidence boosting win in the competition.

Amajimbos struggled to find their feet in the opening ten minutes of the match with the whole squad making their international debuts, however Ntseki’s experience made all the difference in settling the boys.

Ntseki’s side opened the scoring through Shahabodien in the 13th minute after he latched onto a loose ball before slotting the ball into the net to make it 1-0.

After a good build up in the midfield, Shahabodien completed his brace in the 37th minute to hand the South African side a two-goal lead.

Ntseki opted to introduce two substitutions, bringing on Joshua Momodu and Junior Nare for Omphile Moeletsi and Olefile Ramatlo respectively.

McFarlene managed to make it 3-0 to Amajimbos in the 58th minute before Bechards Pablo netted a consolation goal for Mozambique in the 73rd minute.

However, the South African U17 held on to their lead until the final whistle to secure a win in their opening clash of the Cosafa Cup.

– This story originally appeared on SportsClub.co.za