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NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS

The Nairobian

Ingwe claw Yanga to book a berth in the final

Football

By ERICK OCHIENG' | Jun 08, 2017

AFC Leopards beat Tanzanian Premier League (TPL) champions Yanga SC 4-2 on post-match penalties to sail to the finals at the ongoing SportPesa Super Cup in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The two sides had battled to a barren draw in normal time despite the numerous attempts both sides made in the yesterday’s semi-finals encounter played under scorching sun at the 20,000 seater Uhuru stadium.

The hosts dominated opening half slightly but compact Ingwe defence led by Ugandan import Ramadhan Yakubu kept Yanga strikers in total check. Gilbert Fiamenyo, Allan Kateregga and sensational striker Vincent Oburu had good orchestrated coordination in the left wing but poor finishing dwindled their efforts.

Kateregga had two open breakthroughs in the 23rd and 25th minute but his indecision was the greatest drawback in the brilliant moves.

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Yanga, too, had their fair share of disappointments most notably Abdul Juma who wasted two spot kicks that left their intimidating fans baying for his blood.

Oburu came close to scoring for AFC in the 85th minute but his shot was miraculously parried off by Yanga custodian Deogracious Munish.

The hosts were still the better side in the second half even though they lacked the finishing accuracy.

AFC Leopards captain Bernard Mangoli indicated that they had resolved to go for early goals in the match so as to avoid the dreaded penalties but luck was hard on their side.

“It is true scoring has been a major issue on our side, we really strived to apply the new pattern introduced by our new coach in order to get an early goal but our opponents were equal to the task, we also blocked their tactics, it was a tough match,”Mangoli said.

Mangoli believed mixing AFC quad with young players gave them the buoyancy to contain Yanga who had an upper hand in the contest as reigning TPL champions.

New AFC Leopards head coach Marin Dorian said he had analyzed their opponents meticulously with his assistant Dennis Kitambi before coming up with the final squad that faced Yanga.

Yanga head coach, Mwambusi Juma praised his young side for performing beyond his expectation in the tournament despite the elimination.

“As you know, most of our regular squad members are with Taifa Stars so we chose the U23 side which we mixed with our captain Haroun Canavaro Nadir and goal keeper Munish who were the only two senior players in the squad.

“The two were instrumental with their leadership skills which saw us reach this height.

This tournament was a great exposure for my young players,”Juma said.

Juma said they had mended their mistakes ahead of the match as they were not eager to experience a goal drought against AFC but just like their opponents, they too were unlucky from getting a goal in regular time.

“We had considered the weather and noted which players to use in the enduring overhead sun in Dar, we had also worked on our penalties ahead of the match just to avert any eventuality and it paid off,” AFC head coach Marin Dorian said.