Azam admit having thorny passage

AZAM said they need to pull their socks up in order to get a chance of moving further in the CAF Confederation Cup after a 3-0 loss to Al Khadar at Martyrs of February Stadium in Libya over the weekend.

The two teams meet again in the second leg round at Azam Complex in Dar es Salaam on Saturday in a match that the hosts should win at least 4-0 to move on.

However, reacting after the upset, Azam’s Assistant Coach Kally Ongala described it as a disappointing result saying they played below par despite beginning the match positively.

“We are very disappointed with the outcome and the most important thing now is to focus on the second leg insisting that the best way is to just work hard and put it all during the reverse duel.

“It is not impossible to make it but we have to really put in a lot of effort because today (Saturday), we did not deserve this,” he said.

Also, skipper Bruce Kangwa reiterated that they could not positively utilise well scoring chances they made while their opponents used theirs well.

“In these competitions, you need to be cautious with the scoring opportunities which come because if you fail to use them correctly, then it becomes hard to win the match.

“We are now going back to the drawing board and see what went wrong, sort out the shortfalls and aim to come back stronger during the return match at home,” he remarked.

The defeat was the second for French trainer Denis Lavagne at the helm of the club after conceding a 1-0 loss in the Premier League from Tanzania Prisons.