Yanga beat Singida to sail through to Azam Cup final
Yanga players celebrate after beating Singida Big Stars 1-0 to sail trough Azam Cup final. The victory means Yanga will meet Azam FC in a match to be played in June at Mkwakwani Stadium in Tanga. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- The victory means Yanga will meet Azam FC in the final match of the competition, scheduled to take place at Tanga’s CCM Mkwakwani Stadium in mid-June.
Singida. The lone goal scored by Fiston Mayale in the Azam Federation Cup semifinal match was enough for Young Africans (Yanga) to eliminate Singida Big Stars from the competition.
Mayele scored in the 83rd, just outside the penalty box, in a thrilling and packed encounter held at the Liti Stadium in Singida Region. Mayele substituted Clement Mzize in the 80th minute of the encounter.
The victory means Yanga will meet Azam FC in the final match of the competition, scheduled to take place at Tanga’s CCM Mkwakwani Stadium in mid-June.
Azam FC qualified for the final after eliminating Simba 2-1 at the Nangwanda Sjjaona Stadium. The winner of the competition will represent the country in the CAF Confederation Cup.
Apart from having qualified for the final, the victory is also a revenge for Yanga against Singida Big Stars, who eliminated Yanga in the 2018 final, whereby the Jangwani Street side were eliminated at the same venue.
Yanga dominated the first half of the match and created many scoring chances but failed to convert them into goals.
"I commend my players for the victory. We managed to command the game in the first half and the second half, but we failed to score more goals. However, what is important is to win a game, which we did, and my players deserve compliments," said Yanga head coach Nesreddine Nabi.
Nabi said the match was very tough and that the team had to rest some of its key players due to fatigue.
"We experienced a tough fixture, and I had to rest some of the players due to tiredness, but after the match seemed to end in a barren draw, I changed the pattern and managed to win," he said.
The match’s goal score was Mayele's, and she also admitted to facing strong opposition against Singida Big Stars despite the victory
"It was not an easy match, and we (Yanga) have come from a strong match in the CAF Confederation Cup; we need this victory, and we are expecting another tough match against Azam FC," said Mayele.
Singida Big Stars head coach Hans Van Pluijm commended his players for the best show despite losing against a very tough team in the competition.
Pluijm said they made mistakes and gave Yanga a chance to win the encounter.
