Manqoba: Yanga yet to peak

DAR ES SALAAM: YOUNG Africans Head Coach Manqoba Mngqithi has hailed his side’s convincing victory over JKT Tanzania but insists the team remains a work in progress, with significant room for improvement despite another strong attacking display and a clean sheet.

Manqoba made the reaction following his side won 4-0 at KMC Complex in Dar es Salaam on Monday. He told reporters that his side still need to improve their control of matches and make better use of the spaces available to them, but was encouraged by the variety in which they are finding the net.

“We are still a team that is a work in progress,” Manqoba said, stressing that considerable structural work remains.

He was particularly pleased that Yanga did not concede, but believes the team should have scored more.

“I appreciate the fact that today we did not concede, but I believe we still deserve to score a little bit more than what we are scoring,” he said.

Manqoba also explained why Yanga did not continue pushing aggressively for more goals after building a four-goal advantage.

He said there was little value in exhausting the players when JKT were reluctant to come forward, particularly with another match approaching.

“That’s a game of football. We also don’t want to kill our legs. There’s also the next match coming,” Manqoba said.

The coach explained that when opponents sit deep and refuse to engage, Yanga can afford to be patient rather than forcing the game.

“If the opponents are not interested in coming to the ball, and you are already four goals up, you don’t have to rush,” he said. “Wait for them, when they come, then you go for the space behind.”

Manqoba said managing the game in such circumstances is also part of ensuring the squad remains physically ready for the demanding schedule ahead.

“When they don’t come, you try to kill the game slowly, slowly, slowly because there are many games and they are coming thick and fast,” he said.

He warned that chasing an even bigger scoreline at the expense of the players’ energy could prove costly in subsequent fixtures.

“It does not help to rush to score 10 goals and you don’t have the legs for the next match,” Manqoba said, adding that Yanga need to be strong again and understand what will be required of them in their next game.

For JKT coach Ahmad Ally, the heavy defeat largely resulted from a failure to maintain concentration after a promising start.

Ally said JKT had prepared specifically for the challenge of facing a stronger Yanga side and believed the plan was working during the opening stages.

He said the team performed well until around the 28th minute, when the first goal changed the momentum of the match.

“We had a plan to see how we could play against a team that is better like Yanga,” Ally said.

He said the side had intended to play in controlled periods, effectively managing the game in blocks of around 20 minutes while adapting to the quality of the opposition.

However, Ally said the second 20-minute period brought too many mistakes, leaving JKT three goals down by half-time.

He accepted that the performance provided lessons for both himself and his players, saying he still has time to improve the team’s response to difficult moments.

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The JKT coach said the defeat therefore provides further “homework” for him as a coach, particularly in improving his players’ behaviour and decision-making when key moments arise.

He said JKT must learn to reduce the damaging moments in matches and develop better habits that can translate into improved performances and, ultimately, better results.