YOUNG Africans head coach Miguel Gamondi expressed satisfaction with his team's performance despite their 2-1 defeat to FC Augsburg in a pre-season friendly at Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, on Saturday afternoon.

The match saw debuts for new arrivals Aziz Andabwile, Duke Abuya, Clatous Chama, Prince Dube, and Chadrak Boka, and featured the first goal for Jean Baleke. 

Left-back Mads Pedersen opened the scoring for the Bundesliga side just before halftime with a precise left-footed shot into the corner, following excellent setup play by Elvis Rexhbecaj. 

Nine minutes before stoppage time, Phillip Tietz extended Augsburg's lead to 2-0 with an assist from Masaya Okugawa. 

Young Africans responded three minutes later with Baleke's powerful header.

Fielding a strong starting lineup that included Bundesliga regulars, Augsburg dominated the early stages of the match, creating several opportunities as early as the fourth minute through Rexhbecaj. 

Steve Mounié’s header was cleared off the line in the 14th minute, and Rexhbecaj narrowly missed after a well-coordinated play with Arne Engels.

Despite having less possession, Young Africans managed to create two significant chances before halftime. They first struck the crossbar with a deflected shot from Maxi Nzegeli, and Augsburg goalkeeper Daniel Klein made a crucial save to deny Stephane Azizi Ki’s long-range effort in the 33rd minute.

At halftime, Gamondi made three substitutions, while Augsburg coach Jess Thorup changed all eleven players to give his squad ample playing time.

Speaking to Yanga TV, Gamondi said: “I congratulate my players because we arrived in a not-so-good position to play a game at this level against a team who play in Bundesliga, but they put a lot of effort into the tactical and physical sides even if they were not ready to play.

“I am very happy and proud. We showed that the gap between European and African football is not as big as before. Let me say something: maybe it was easy for me to park the bus, put five defenders, three central midfielders, and try to waste time, but we went toe-to-toe with them.

“In the first half, we played against their ideal starting eleven. They created maybe three or four chances, especially from corners, and we created two or three chances as well. We should have scored in the first half.

“I think we dominated the second half. We created more chances and played very well. We started to introduce new signings, which is difficult for them to adapt to a new system, but I am really grateful for what they have shown.”

Gamondi's positive outlook and focus on development signal a promising direction for Young Africans as they continue their pre-season preparations.