YOUNG Africans Head Coach Luc Eymael said poor pitch contributed much to their scoreless draw with Coastal Union at Mkwakwani Stadium in Tanga on Sunday.
It was the same old story for the 27-time champions as they succumbed to the fourth consecutive draw in the Vodacom Premier League (VPL) to trail the leaders Simba SC with 21 points after 22 outings.
The outcome has since placed Yanga on the fourth slot just one point above their opponents Coastal Union who sit at the fifth position on the ladder with 39 points from 24 matches.
Briefing members of the media after the draw, Eymael repeatedly blamed the pitch insisting that it deprived them an opportunity to showcase their usual football.
“ It is not easy to play on this kind of the pitch because we do not train here to become familiar with it. I tried to change the playing format to 4:4:2 for almost 20 minutes but still did not work out.
As you know, I do not entertain the 4:4:2 pattern but I applied it to perhaps win the match but we did not succeed,” he said.
On his part, Coastal Union Head Coach Juma Mgunda conceded that it was a difficult game for them bearing in mind that Yanga were searching for nothing else other than the victory.
“ They were looking for the victory just like us after losing our previous league match but I am happy to get the one point and we need to focus on our next matches to continue scaling up on the log,” he said.
In another development, Tanzania Prisons Head Coach Mohamed Rishard said his team still struggle to hit behind the net despite their 2-0 triumph over Lipuli FC on Sunday at Sokoine Stadium in Mbeya.
“ We still have problems when it comes to scoring goals but today (Sunday), we have shown some improvement and I am sure that we will continue to correct the mistakes we are encountering,” he said.
He then complimented his players for the good effort displayed during the match saying slowly, they are catching up.
His counterpart for Lipuli FC, Julio Elieza said they lost fairly such that there was no need to blame anything for their slump.
“ For today, let me praise referees for executing well their roles without taking sides unlike during the past game we played,” Elieza said.
For Alliance FC who drew 1-1 with Singida United, their coach Fred Minziro blamed his charges for misusing many scoring chances they generated throughout the encounter while Singida United Assistant Coach Zulkifri Mahal revealed that the obtained one point is a good step for them to move away from the relegation threat.
