Gamondi lauds team’s form

DAR ES SALAAM: YOUNG Africans coach Miguel Gamondi expressed his satisfaction with his team’s performance following their 1-0 victory over Coastal Union at Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium in Arusha over the weekend, despite concerns about the pitch conditions affecting both teams.

A lone goal from Jean Baleke secured a vital away win for the defending champions, helping Yanga maintain their unbeaten streak with seven consecutive victories 21 points in the league.

For Coastal Union, this marked their fifth loss of the season, leaving them with two wins and two defeats from nine matches.

After the match, Gamondi commended his team’s efforts but stressed the need for improvements to the pitch.

“Our primary goal was to secure three points and we achieved that. However, I am not satisfied with the state of the pitch; it does not meet the standards for professional football.”

“This did not affect us only but even our opponents that is why they opted to use long balls throughout the encounter…poor pitches do not provide real definition of Tanzania football,” he said.

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On his part, Coastal Union coach Juma Mwambusi revealed that quality was what decided the match as their opponents have players of high quality in comparison with his side.

“We did everything possible to get something tangible from this game but that did not come true due to the nature of players that Yanga have.

“They decided the match in their favour while for us, we just need to focus on our next matches aiming to pocket essential points in order to keep scaling up the league ladders,” he said.

Commenting on whether the status of the pitch contributed to their downfall, he said that was not an excuse for him because their opponents got positive result from the same venue.

However, it was Mwambusi’s first league match at the helm of the Tanga based club after being introduced as new coach ready to take charge of the team throughout the season.

Last season, Coastal Union finished on fourth place in the Premier League standings a slot that earned them a chance to compete in the CAF Confederation Cup and got eliminated in the first preliminary round.