AfricaPress-Tanzania: AZAM FC said finishing on second slot on the Mainland Premier League table this season is a default for them as such; They are not worried to accommodate the third place.
Azam were held to a 1-1 draw at Karume Stadium in Musoma over the weekend by the resilient Biashara United, the draw saw them surrendering the second place to their rivals Young Africans.
A point separates the two teams as Yanga have carved 60 points against Azam’s 59 points, thus making the race for the second position take a new look and even more interesting considering the fourth-placed Namungo FC are not far away from the race.
However, speaking after the game, Azam Information Officer, Thabit Zakaria confidently said the second place will come to them as a default such that they do not have to fight hard for it.
“For us, we can use more energy when battling for the championship and not the second place because it will come to us even without putting much energy,” he said.
Concerning the outcome of the match, Zakaria said it was just a bad luck for them to fail to come out clean from the match despite enjoying good ball possession.
“We commanded the match well and managed to score the leading goal early in the second half which was later cancelled in the dying minutes of the hot game.
“It was painful for us to get the setback basing on the energy we pumped into the encounter to get maximum points but that is what football is all about,” he said.
He added that the clash was divided equally between the two teams as the hosts controlled well the first half whereas the second half was Azam’s.
He however disclosed that they were pleased with the officiating despite minor mistakes from the referees saying a football match cannot be fair by 100 percent.
“Even players cannot enjoy the game 100 percent without committing minor mistakes but our chance to end the season on the second place remain high,” said he.
Azam will now divert their energy to the Azam Sports Federation Cup (ASFC) as they take on top flight league champions Simba SC in the quarterfinals set on Wednesday at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
