Author: BENJAMIN BEN
AfricaPress-Tanzania: YOUNG Africans Assistant Coach, Juma Mwambusi has insisted that Angolan import midfielder, Carlinho Fernandes ‘Carlinhos’ is yet to get his full fitness to withstand the Premier League rhythm.
Carlinhos provided the only assist in Yanga’s 1-0 friendly win against Mwadui on Friday night at Azam Complex in Dar es Salaam, courtesy of 81st minute strike by Michael Sarpong.
It was again a long ball which was played by Carlinhos, picking Sarpong, who got the better of both Mwadui defender and his goalkeeper before slicing the ball into the empty net.
The victory was a continuation of unbeaten run in all competition by the Jangwani Street based side who have not lost any game this season despite sacking their former Head Coach Zlatko Krmpotic.
“To say the truth, he is yet to reach the required level to get the best from him (Carlinhos). You can see that whenever he plays as a winger, he struggles a lot to defend that is why I think that he needs to train more to get extra fitness. “He is a very good player who has something to offer aside from being dangerous in taking set pieces as such, we just need to wait for his other side of playing football,”
Mwambusi said. Commenting generally about the team’s performance, Mwambusi said they still need at least three weeks to get the demanded pattern in his team.
“A coach usually comes with his philosophy to be imparted in his team. Sometimes, it takes a long time for the chemistry to work well like what happened with the former coach (Krmpotic),” he noted.
Furthermore, Mwambusi who reunited with his former (Yanga) after departing to look for green pastures elsewhere, narrated that friendly games help a lot to give a chance to other players in the squad who are not regulars in the starting XI.
“We simply need to sharpen their skills and correct some of the mistakes they showcase before considering them into the first line up of the team,” he said.
Mwadui are placed on 8th slot on the table with 6 points from five matches, after winning two games and losing three encounters in the process.
They showcased a good game, containing Yanga and had several goal attempts but could not make full utilisation of them.
