Author: BENJAMIN BEN
AfricaPress-Tanzania: YOUNG Africans Head Coach Zlatko Krmpotic defended his move for not playing midfielder Carlos Fernandes ‘Carlinhos’ against Tanzania Prisons saying he is not fully fit to play for 90 minutes.
The two teams shared one point following a 1-1 draw on Sunday at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Sunday in their 2020/21 top flight league’s opening campaign.
The visitors, who finished the game with ten men, were the first to take the lead thanks to a well-crafted left foot long range strike by Lambert Sabiyanka, who smartly beat goalkeeper Farouk Shikalo at his guarding territory.
Yanga responded back a few minutes later through a close range shot by a Ghanaian striker Michael Sarpong who took advantage of the ball scramble inside the visitor’s penalty box.
At a press briefing, when asked why the Angolan import midfielder did not play, Krmpotic replied that he still needs more time to improve on his fitness levels.
“He is a very good player, very talented but he is not yet ready to play for 90 minutes especially against a strong opponents like Tanzania Prisons,” the coach said.
Again the Serbian trainer narrated that his side played poorly in the first half, but was convinced with the second half display despite missing several scoring chances.
“In the second half, we were better but if you do not score, it means it was bad while insisting that they have enough time to correct the shortfalls which emerged,” said he.
On his part, Tanzania Prisons Assistant Coach Shabani Kazumba described the draw as a victory to them saying they faced a team which has got many professional players than his side.
“The good thing about our team is that we are lucky to keep the same squad for a long time such that only two players were released during the past transfer window. The rest were there last season,” he said.
Again, Kazumba pointed out that they had enough time to watch a friendly match that Yanga played against Burundi’s side Aigle Noir of which he said helped them to understand their opponents.
“We are not complaining with what we have pocketed from the match since we were not dominated like the way people think only that we showed them some respect,” he said.
Up next, Yanga face Mbeya City on Sunday at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in the city while Tanzania Prisons will stay put here to take on KMC at Uhuru Stadium on Saturday.
