Tactical changes paid off – Gamondi

DAR ES SALAAM: YOUNG Africans coach Miguel Gamondi expressed his satisfaction following a decisive 4-0 win against Vital’O in the first leg of the CAF Champions League preliminary round match held at Azam Complex in Dar es Salaam on Saturday.

Gamondi reflected on the match, noting that despite missing several clear scoring opportunities in the first half, tactical adjustments in the final segment of the game significantly improved his team’s performance.

“In the first half, we missed several clear scoring opportunities, and in the last segment, I made some changes which helped to improve the team’s performance and in the end, we secured the massive win,” Gamondi said.

He also addressed Vital’O’s pre-match comments, emphasising the need for respect in football. “I think they (Vital’O) talked a lot before the match.

Professionally in football, you need to have some respect for your opponents, but they did not; hence, they now understand how big we are,” he added.

Yanga will now look forward to the second leg of the preliminary round, set to take place next Saturday at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.

Following their impressive performance, Yanga received 20m/- from the presidential motivation package.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s pledged to awards 5m/- for each goal scored by Tanzanian teams.

The award was presented to Yanga by Gerson Msigwa, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Sports, who also extended good luck wishes to all Tanzanian teams competing in CAF inter-club competitions, including Azam, Simba and Coastal Union.

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Vital’O’s technical bench remained silent after the match, but the club’s Information Officer, Arsene Bucuti, vowed to turn things around in the second leg.

“All is not lost and I am sure that on Saturday, we are going to produce a 5-4 win to move on into the second preliminary round of the competition,” Bucuti said.

Before the match, Bucuti had stated in interviews that he would step down as Vital’O’s Information Officer if the team lost to Yanga.