Twiga Stars vow to bounce back after 1-0 defeat
Tanzania’s women soccer team, Twiga Stars
What you need to know:
Twiga Stars head coach Rogasian Kaijage described the defeat as “fluke” and vowed to fashion a victory in their next Group A matches
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s women soccer team, Twiga Stars, made a slow start to the All Africa Games on Sunday after falling to a 1-0 loss at the hands of Cote d’Ivoire in Brazzaville, Congo.
However, Twiga Stars head coach Rogasian Kaijage described the defeat as “fluke” and vowed to fashion a victory in their next Group A matches.
Stars, who displayed some sublime football against the West African girls, square up against Nigeria tomorrow at Stade Municipal de Kintélé. “Cote d’Ivoire were lucky to escape with maximum points on Sunday. We played better than them throughout the match, but they got one chance and scored. This is how cruel football can be,” said Kaijage via telephone.
The outspoken tactician added: “We had a lion’s share of possession and created many openings, but my forwards were a bit naïve to execute the chances.” “Nonetheless, Twiga Stars are not out yet; we have a massive game against Nigeria and we will have to prove that our Sunday’s defeat was just a fluke.” “We have a team capable of beating the Nigerians and improve our chances of sailing through to the last four stage. We are upset by the way we lost to the Ivorians and the girls have promised a perfect reaction.”
The Group A opener, which took place at Stade Municipal de Kintélé, saw Cote d’Ivoire score what proved to be the winning goal in the 48th minute through Sandrine Niamien.
Twiga Stars manager Furaha Francis hailed Twiga Stars for the performance, exuding confidence that the Tanzanian girls will bounce back and cruise into the semifinals.
The manager attributed the opening day loss to a lapse of concentration by the Stars defenders.
“Our girls put up a fine performance against the Ivorians. We controlled the game for the better part of the match, but a minor defensive lapse cost us the points at stake,” she said.
“Judging by Sunday’s performance, Tanzania will win the last two games of the group. We will start with the next obstacle, which is Nigeria before facing the hosts.”
However, it remains to be seen if they can down Nigeria who routed Congo 5-1 on Sunday.
After the Nigeria clash, Twiga Stars will swing back into action on Saturday for their final group match against Congo. The winners and runners-up of each group advance to the semi-finals.
