SERENGETI Boys Head Coach Oscar Milambo admitted that his side ought to fix goal keeping problems ahead of their upcoming a must win two-game mission of the U-17 AFCON finals.
Tanzania face debutants Uganda tomorrow at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam with both teams eager to bag in their first maximum three points after losing 5-4 to Nigeria and 1-0 to Angola respectively in their openers.
The other group A tie tomorrow will see Nigeria hosting Angola with both teams enjoying top positions of the fourteam table after bagging vital three points in their opening matches.
A win by Serengeti Boys tomorrow will give them a good position to advance as they aim to clinch the prestigious title for the first time and as well win a ticket to play in the 2019 U-17 FIFA World Cup to be staged in Brazil late this year.
The victory will also help the youthful to boost morale and hopes as they are determined to put the nation on the world face as inspirational future stars.
In a post-match press briefing, Milambo said he was particularly impressed with the fighting spirit shown by his charges, but openly said a lot of work needs to be done to strengthen the goal keeping section.
“From today’s (Sunday) match, it is evident that we still have a big problem in goal keeping department and I am sure that the persons involved in this area have noted the setback and will rectify it ahead of our second match,” Milambo said.
He added that they need to recover from their first defeat as fast as possible and record a massive win against Uganda.
“We played as the team but as you know, these are young players likely to commit easy mistakes at any point during the match as such, the results is homework for us ahead of the upcoming fixtures,” said Milambo.
He then called upon all Tanzanians to continue rallying behind their team as they want to leave another remarkable history in the country’s football books.
“The negative results should not make us give up but rather aim for the positive outcomes in the approaching two matches,” he said. H
owever, this was not the first time for the coach to comment on the goal keeping problem as he did the same after the special Invitation football tournament held in Rwanda lately where Serengeti Boys used the competition for gearing up of the unfolding contest.
During their final match against hosts Rwanda, Serengeti Boys goalkeeper Mwinyi Yahya conceded a late equaliser which enabled the tense match to end 3-3.
On his part, Nigeria coach Manu Garba said three points were what his team needed most from the hot clash on the day. “It was a great game from both sides, but we are happy that finally we have obtained good results which will keep us in the race towards the championship,” Garba said.
The Golden Eaglets are one of the most experienced sides in the competition having won the title twice (2001, 2007) and are making their ninth appearance whereas Cameroon and Guinea play for their 7th time.
