Stars coach ponders Algeria conquest
TAIFA Stars coach Adel Amrouche has demanded aggressiveness from his charges in their last match of Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Algeria, while Niger trainer Jean Cavalli regretted his side’s 1-0 defeat.
The country’s envoys are on the right path to securing a third AFCON qualification after registering a vital 1-0 triumph against Niger at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam over the weekend.
Simon Msuva made the difference as his solitary goal rekindled the Stars’ hopes to make it to Ivory Coast, where the finals of the biggest football showpiece on the continent will stage.
They now have seven points and sit in second place in Group F, whose leaders, Algeria, extended their unbeaten run to five matches after hammering Uganda 2-1 to claim 15 points.
The Cranes are in the third slot with four points in the bag, while Niger, who have missed a chance to play at the finals, remain glued at the table’s base with two points after five engagements.
However, commenting about the next and last qualifying match against Algeria, Amrouche described it as a final match, reiterating that they will fight hard.
“In football, you lose sometimes, but I do not accept losing without fighting hard…we are going to give all we have, and I need aggressiveness and determination from my players to stamp success,” he said.
Again, Amrouche said he was disappointed with the remarks by Niger’s Assistant Coach, saying that in their last fixture against Uganda, they will help them (Uganda) to win the match so that they can qualify over Stars.
“This is not fair play, and if they do that, we will take action against them (Niger). We lost here versus Uganda, and nobody said anything…we have won against them, they are saying they will help Uganda, this is not fair,” he complained.
On his part, Cavalli conceded that the defeat had driven them out of the contest even though they managed to dominate the encounter on the day.
“We were much better, especially in the second half where we missed three clear chances to score, but we could not manage to convert the chances to goals,” he said.
He then said they were not lucky and vowed to play hard in their last fixture against Uganda as they are yet to taste victory in the elapsing AFCON qualifiers.
