AfricaPress-Tanzania: SIMBA SC goalkeeper, Aishi Manula and his Coastal Union counterpart Soud Dondola have each stamped 14 clean sheets the time when the Premier League was suspended due to Covid-19 pandemic.
The two shot-stoppers have had good ride in the top flight league in their respective teams no wonder they have managed to shine above other goalies in making daring saves that helped much their teams.
However, the difference between them is that Dondola maintained his clean sheet after playing in 2,430 minutes while Manula used 1,890 minutes, until the Premier League came to suspension on March 17, this year.
Commenting on this development, Dondola said unity in the team is the main factor which has enabled him to be very competitive between the posts.
“Football is a game of cooperation such that if I do well, it means even my teammates are playing their part for the sake of lifting up the team to victory,” he said while revealing that the recent goalkeeping technology has played a big impact to make him better.
He added that to get that clean sheet after playing 27 games makes him happy since he trains a lot to be where he is.
“Let me thank the coach and the entire technical bench for keeping their trust in me in most of the games played and through that, I have shown the public my ability. I was well received at Coastal Union and I am grateful for that,” said he.
He then disclosed that currently, his role model is Aishi Manula insisting that he is learning many things from him and he also mentioned veteran custodian Juma Kaseja whom he labeled as the most experienced keeper in the country.
“As young upcoming goalkeepers, we need to reach high levels like where Manula and others are and even surpass them if necessary. The most important thing is to work hard daily to achieve big things,” he said.
Coastal Union are among the teams in the league with solid defensive display no wonder they have conceded few goals (19) in comparison with other teams on the log.
After league leaders Simba who have conceded 15 goals, which is the lowest than any other team on the ladder, Coastal Union and Tanzania Prisons follows with each conceding 19 goals in that order.
From the latest league ranking, Coastal Union are placed fifth on the table with 46 points from 28 matches after winning 13 games, posting 7 draws and losing eight encounters in the process. They have scored 27 goals and conceded 19 goals as they want to fight hard to finish among the top four teams at the end of the season.
With almost eight games to go before the end of the season, the battle for survival is going to be very tough when the league resumes with four teams heavily haunted by the relegation jaws.
All is not well for Mwanza based teams with Alliance FC and Mbao FC not safe from the relegation zone as the former occupies 18th slot with 29 points while the former sit on 19th place with 23 points.
