YOUNG Africans Head Coach, Luc Eymael bemoaned missed chances during a 3-0 loss to Kagera Sugar in the Mainland Premier League clash on Wednesday, saying his charges need to improve.
Yusuf Mhilu gave Kagera Sugar the first half lead and substitutes Ally Ramadhan and Peter Mwalyanzi scored a goal apiece in the second half at the Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam, as the Kagera lads posted their first victory over Yanga for the past seven seasons.
It was the second defeat for Yanga this season and their heaviest loss in the league in eight years.
The last time Yanga suffered such a heavy defeat was in September 2012, when they lost to Mtibwa Sugar 3-0.
In May of the same year, Yanga suffered a humiliating 5-0 defeat at the hands of their traditional rivals Simba.
The last time Kagera Sugar beat Yanga in a league match was in the 2014/15 season, which they won 1-0 at the Kaitaba Stadium in Bukoba.
And, Wednesday’s victory was the fourth for Kagera Sugar against Yanga, since were promoted into the topflight and after 21 league games played between the two sides, Yanga have won 17 times.
Up next, Yanga face Azam FC at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam tomorrow in another pick of the season game with both teams having equal advantage to win the clash.
The downfall saw Yanga cling to the eighth slot on the table with 25 points from 13 outings as the marathon towards the title chase gets tough game after game.
At a post-match briefing, Eymael said his side failed to use the scoring chances created in both halves of the game.
“If you fail to score from the opportunities you make, you cannot win the game and that is what happened today (Wednesday),” Eymael, who guided the Jangwani Street side for the first time in his coaching career said.
Furthermore, the Belgian trainer claimed that his team was able to threaten their opponents on several occasions as the match unfolded but missing the scoring chances is what deprived them the highly needed victory.
His counterpart for Kagera Sugar Mecky Mexime, who has been linked with the move to join Yanga as Assistant Coach, said their sweet victory on the day did not mean that they were good than Yanga.
“In football, when you make mistakes, your opponents simply use well those mistakes to punish you and that is what we did to them (Yanga),” he said.
He added that winning with that big goal margin does not give them guarantee that the other upcoming matches will be easy, saying the league is very tough.
“After losing our previous two games, people thought we were going to lose again but the game of football is played in an open ground and everyone has seen how the match unfolded,” he said.
Mexime lauded his players for executing well his instructions throughout the match, which drove them to the fourth place on the log with 27 points from 17 outings.
His striker, Yusuf Mhilu, who scored a spectacular first goal for his side after an assist from Yanga veteran defender Kelvin Yondani, said he wants to be among the golden boot contender this season.
“I think an early goal we scored disorganised them and gave us energy to press hard in search of extra goals. Yanga is an experienced team with quality players but we showed them that we can even stage a good match,” he said.
