Taifa Stars' coach, Charles Boniface Mkwasa
Taifa Stars drew 0-0 with Nigeria in the game to see the former
stay in the third position of group G of the qualifiers with one point
salvaged from two matches.
“The results are not good but I have been satisfied by my players.
The team’s performance has inspired me to deploy young players regularly
in the coming matches”, Mkwasa said.
Mudathir Yahya, Farid Musa and Saidi Ndemla were among the youths
who Mkwasa fielded in the match and the former won the admiration of
fans with their work rate.
Yahya, who also plays for Mainland Premier League’s Azam FC, was
impressive in the opening half but then struggled to keep Nigeria
midfielders in the second half and was substituted for equally youthful
midfielder, Ndemla.
Ndemla, who also turns out for Mainland premier league’s Simba SC,
quickly got into action and wowed fans with his dribbling and passing
skills.
His notable contribution came midway through the second half, when
he threaded a pass to striker, Thomas Ulimwengu and the latter outpaced
Nigeria defender, Solomon Kwambe, at the edge of the latter’s box but
the Stars’ attacker’s fierce shot was saved by Nigeria keeper, Ikeme
Onora.
Mkwasa said his team had to go for a more defensive approach in the
first half, as it did not want to risk giving their opponents
opportunity to score early goals.
“We had poor results in recent games, therefore, we opted for a
more defensive approach in the first half. We could have scored goals
had we opted for an attacking game”, he disclosed.
Stars, which fielded three professionals, Thomas Ulimwengu and
Mbwana Samata, who features for Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
soccer big guns, TP Mazembe, as well as Mrisho Ngasa, who features for
South Africa’s Free State Stars, showed conviction in either half of the
match but was short of scoring touch.
Stars could have come out victorious had they made the most of
opportunities that came their way particularly in the second half.
They had three clear chances to find Nigeria’s back of the net but strikers, Ulimwengu and Ngasa, failed to exploit the chances.
Ulimwengu was at the end of a good move by Stars but he agonisingly
blasted over the cross bar from inside Nigeria’s penalty area, with the
latter’s keeper Onora, already beaten.
Ngasa then disappointingly went for a diving header in an attempt
to connect home a good cross by left fullback, Haji Mwinyi, from the
left flank, only for the speedy striker to see the attempt go over the
crossbar.
Samata said he and his team mates did their best in the game but
failed to beat Nigeria keeper, Onora, and the former went on to praise
the latter for a good game he showcased.
Nigeria’s coach, Sunday Oliseh, said his team was below par in the
first half but improved in the second half. He also praised Stars for
giving his squad a challenge.
Nigeria skipper Ahmed Musa, was also full of praise for Stars, saying the latter should not be perceived as minnows anymore.
Stars suffered a 3-0 loss to Egypt in the opening game of the group
G of the qualifiers at the latter’s venue, Borg el Arab, in Alexandria
on June 14.
Stars will need nothing short of a win in their coming game against
Chad on March 23 next year to have any hope of staying within reach of a
place in the next stage of the qualifiers.
Nigeria are currently in the top position in the group with four
points from a 2-0 win over Chad in the first game and the 0-0 draw with
Stars.
Egypt, who were expected to play bottom-placed Chad at the latter’s
venue, Idriss Mahamat Ouya, in N’Djamena, yesterday, are second in the
group with three points.
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