YOUNG Africans Head Coach, Luc Eymael disclosed that his ambition is to help his side finish on second slot at the end of the season’s Mainland Premier League.
Yanga hammered defending champions Simba 1-0 in a sparkling traditional derby match on Sunday at the packed National Stadium in Dar es Salaam with the Ghanaian international Bernard Morrison netting the winner a few minutes before the breather.
It was the third defeat for Simba this season which saw them clinging on the driving seat of the 20-team table with 68 points from 27 matches as they still look unshakable towards retaining the league title.
For Yanga, the victory was their 14th in the progressing season after 25 games, pocketing 50 points in the process to sit on the third slot of the current top flight league.
However, at a post-match briefing, Eymael said he hoped that the good results against Simba made more Yanga fans happy insisting that they will still continue to work hard to move up the league ladders.
“I just hope now to go further in the competition and perhaps to win the cup but I would really want to finish on the second place,” said Eymael.
Adding, the Belgian trainer said he knew that the tactical strength of Simba is their wingers who opt to overload the midfield, naming Francis Kahata and Luis Miquissone as the ones mostly used to win the midfield battle.
“We dominated well the midfield with Haruna Niyonzima, Papy Tshishimbi and Feisal Salum not losing focus in the fight which highly helped us to win the mach,” he said.
Eymael, however, conceded that Simba gave them problems but lauded his boys for resisting well throughout the encounter.
He also revealed that he is used to play in derby matches that is why he had no pressure at all facing the league leaders on the day.
About substitution of the goal scorer Morrison who was replaced by Patrick Sibomana, Eymael said it was not a tactical switch but rather he was not hundred percent fit to play the entire game.
His Belgian counterpart Sven Vandenbroeck was quick to apologise to their fans for failing to win against a team he described as well organised.
“We are all disappointed with the outcome but that does not mean that my boys did not put it all during the match. We had chances to score but unfortunately, we could not turn them into goals,” Vandenbroeck said.
However, the Belgian coach, who looks certain to win his first silverware at the helm of the Msimbazi street based club, said the difference on the day was the free-kick which separated the two sides while calling on his players to rise up in their fourth coming fixtures.
“Let me assure our fans that we will get back on the track quickly to keep moving forward,” he said.
Also, reacting after the game was Simba’s chairman of the Board of Trustees Mohamed Dewji, who simply congratulated Yanga for their great performance on the day.
“They have played good football, God bless them,” he said. Asked what message he had to Simba fans after the defeat, he replied that they will meet as the Board to discuss on that.
