KAGERA: SIMBA head coach, Fadlu Davids, has expressed how pleased he is with his charges offensive display but voiced disappointment over the two goals conceded.
Coach Davids made the reaction after his side secured a 5-2 against Kagera Sugar at Kaitaba Stadium in Kagera on Saturday.
While pleased with the offensive display, he stressed that maintaining a clean sheet should always be the standard for his team.
“Characteristics of the players are to put them in positions where they can really display their skills,” Davids began, noting the importance of allowing his players to showcase their talents.
“I would like to say I am happy with the players who scored five goals but extremely disappointed that we conceded two. We cannot accept this; this is not the standard that we have to set.
This is normally a game where you have to keep a clean sheet.” Despite the two goals allowed, Davids made it clear that the issue was not with the defence itself but with the mentality of the players. He remarked, “It’s not a defensive issue; it’s just a mentality issue.
You can’t say the changes we made a week ago were the ones that strengthened us, but everybody’s got to fight until the end.
“This is the mentality we are trying to build here and we will analyse the game in detail and point out the exact aspects we need to fix. We cannot be happy with conceding two goals today.”
Davids concluded by hailing his team’s overall performance and victory, but reaffirmed his commitment to addressing the defensive lapses. On the other hand, Kagera Sugar’s head coach Melos Medo acknowledged the strength of their opponents, citing the quality of Simba as a major factor in the result.
“It’s quality and we played against Simba, a big team,” Medo said.
“Remember that we haven’t done any new signing, so we are working with the players we have. In the match, we made mistakes and we paid the price for it. Making mistakes against such a team with quality, they punish you on the spot.”
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Medo also reflected on his team’s missed opportunities, noting that despite the mistakes, they had several chances to capitalise on.
“Despite the mistakes, we wasted a few chances. Some players were not ready today—maybe due to a lack of experience, the pressure, or the situation. We tried, but the quality of the opposition made the difference.”
Finally, Medo acknowledged the added pressure his team faced playing against a club of Simba’s calibre, stressing its impact on the performance.
“You cannot deny there was a lot of pressure when facing such a club and it affects the team’s performance,” he concluded.
The match ended with Simba securing a well-earned victory, but both coaches will undoubtedly use the game as a stepping stone to further refine their teams as they continue their campaigns.
