Africa-Press – Tanzania. TAIFA Stars Head Coach Kim Poulsen has lauded his side for reaching in the CECAFA Under-23 Challenge Cup finals following a slim 1-0 win over South Sudan on Tuesday.
The country’s envoys will face-off Burundi in the final to be staged at Bahir Dar International arena in Ethiopia tomorrow to find out which side will lift high the trophy.
A deflected set-piece by Kelvin Nashon in the 64th minute of the game was enough to squeeze Tanzania in the finals and have just one step to make before returning back home with the championship.
At a post-match interview, Poulsen expressed his happiness for making the breakthrough while admitting that they faced a tough opponent (South Sudan).
“I think today’s (Tuesday) game was very tough and we had to push players forward to get everything out of them. In the end, we were a bit luck to win 1-0. “I think most of my players were affected by the first two tough opening games and at the same time, the pitch is difficult to play a passing game so we had to play direct football,” Poulsen said.
He then gave credit to South Sudan for playing with high spirit saying they were fit enough hence pushing his squad to the limits thereby creating few open chances. On his part, Nashon who sent his team into the finals thanked good cooperation from his teammates who enabled him to score the most important goal on the day.
“It was a very difficult game considering the fact that we both sailed into the semifinals meaning that they too did a great job to reach that far. “Scoring the goal to send my country into the finals is the most memorable experience for me and I thank God for making that possible. I hope that we will do better in the finals to win the title and bring it home,” he said.
To reach this stage, Tanzania outclassed DR Congo 1-0 in their opening fixture before recording a 1-1 stalemate against Uganda in the second match which took them into the last four. The deployed squad is made up of players who parade in the domestic league as one way to give them exposure on how it feels to put on national gears and fight for the country.
However, a player who is Under-23 is matured enough to be included in the senior team hence some of the best performers in the ongoing CECAFA Challenge Cup will perhaps be called in the next senior team call up.
