Author: BENJAMIN BEN
AfricaPress-Tanzania: YOUNG Africans Head Coach Cedric Kaze has expressed his happiness upon seeing that confidence among his charges is improving game after game, saying that is the most important thing to be encouraged in a team.
His sentiments came after he guided his side to a narrow 1-0 win over second placed Azam on Wednesday at Azam Complex in Dar es Salaam, the victory which saw Yanga commanding the league table with 28 points.
Deus Kaseke utilised well an assist from Yacouba Sogne to hit his first goal of the campaign and end his side’s winless run in three consecutive games. Yanga stamped draws in all of them.
With the outcome, Azam are now second on the log with 25 points and have surrendered the top position which they held for a long time.
“I can say attitude of players has positively changed to the extent that they can now play as a team by attacking and defending together. “We are now gaining confidence to the extent that even if the ball is in danger zone, we try to build up, change side of play which is very important in a game of football,” said Kaze who is looking to win his first title with Yanga this season.
Moreover, the Burundian trainer narrated that from the series of three draws recorded by his team, it was painful for them but has hailed commitment of players saying they did not lose hope.
“They knew that even if they were posting draws, there was still a room for them to improve in the upcoming games. What I hope for is for us to use well the scoring chances we make and also to play simple football,” said him.
He further pointed out that his side deserved the victory from the way they played and he congratulated all his players for putting on a spirited fight which in the end produced the vital win. “We were good defensively and I do not think that Azam created best chances to score other than simple balls which went straight to the goalkeeper. We also had opportunities to net more than one goal,” he said.
On his part, Azam Information Officer Thabit Zakaria said the outcome was part of football such that they are looking forward to the next fixtures.
“We had the mentality to win the game and grab all three points but, that was not achieved instead, we have lost the match. We now focus on our next match so and our mission to clinch the league title remains unchanged,” he said.
Azam saw their current top goal scorer Prince Dube substituted midway in the first half after picking an injury, hence they lacked a leading striker on the day to cause troubles at Yanga defenders who looked solid throughout the 90 minutes of play.
