AfricaPress-Tanzania: AFTER scoring a goal that sent Ngorongoro Heroes into the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals, Kassim Haruna has expressed his joy for helping his nation to compete in the lucrative tournament.
A 1-0 victory over South Sudan at Black Rhino Academy venue in Karatu, Arusha on Monday was enough to drive the country’s representatives into the AFCON slot.
The triumph also cruised them into the finals of the Under-20 CECAFA Regional AFCON Qualifiers against Uganda Hippos who were the first to qualify after defeating Kenya 3-1 at the same venue.
It will be the first time for the Heroes to feature in the Under-20 AFCON finals which are slated to unfold in Mauritania next year where 12 teams from the continent will tussle for the silverware.
But, making his brief assessment after the game, Haruna said despite them qualifying to play in the finals, the game against South Sudan was very difficult.
“The game was difficult both inside and outside the pitch but the most important thing is that I have managed to make it possible to take the country to AFCON finals next year. “The toughness of the match came upon realising that our opponents (South Sudan) also wanted to defeat us to win a chance of playing in the AFCON showpiece as such, our target was theirs too,” Haruna said.
He added that each team which came to compete in the CECAFA tournament was targeting to go as far as playing in the AFCON tourney that is why the journey was not that easy for them.
His trainer Jamhuri Kihwelo said the semifinal match against South Sudan was the most important than reaching into the CECAFA finals.
“Our priority was to make it to AFCON finals next year and the only way to achieve that was to win at all cost our game versus South Sudan of which we amicably fulfilled. That is why our opponents committed many fouls as they too wanted to get something positive from the game. “I was encouraging my players to press hard and not play as them as such, we succeeded to get the much needed goal and now we are celebrating. It is a historic moment for me to take the Under-20 team to AFCON finals for the first time,” he said.
To reach this far, Ngorongoro Heroes scored a total of 15 goals in three matches courtesy of 6-1 against Djibouti, 8-1 versus Somalia and 1-0 over South Sudan.
Also, the country’s side produced two hat tricks netted by skipper Kelvin John and Abdul Hamis Suleiman as both marched out of the battlefield with a ball in hand something they will cherish in their football career.
