‘Positive result, room to improve’

DAR ES SALAAM: TAIFA Stars Head Coach, Hemed Suleiman, has welcomed his side’s narrow victory over Uganda in pre-CHAN tournament, but stressed the need for greater efficiency in front of goal.

“It is good we won the match, but it also helped us to assess the team well and see the areas where we need to improve,” said Suleiman. “We must also try to ensure we make the most of the opportunities we create in front of goal.”

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Tanzania dominated the first half and deservedly took the lead through Nado, whose powerful long-range effort beat Ugandan goalkeeper Joel Mutakubwa after he misjudged the bounce of the ball.

“We had the best first half,” added Suleiman. “We had the opportunity and got a goal. It was great. The second half was different as Uganda came back strongly, and we had to adapt by switching to a low block. We still had two chances, but we were unlucky not to score more.”

Despite the defeat, Uganda head coach Morley Byekwaso remained upbeat, viewing the match as a valuable learning experience for his players.

“We conceded an early goal because of a mistake, but we also had some weak points that we must strive to improve,” he said. “We didn’t press enough in the first half and gave them too much time to build from the back and they punished us.

“After the break, we improved, dominated possession and restricted them to just a few chances on the counter. We want to build on this performance in our next match.”

Uganda captain Allan Okello echoed his coach’s sentiments, finding positives in the performance despite the result.

“It wasn’t an easy game. We lost today, but we dominated and that’s not easy, especially playing away from home,” Okello said. “We needed to create more chances and take the few we did. This was a preparation match, and we’ll work on our mistakes ahead of the tournament.”