Yanga start pre-season with 2-1 loss to FC Augsburg
What you need to know:
- Yanga's goal was netted in by Jean Baleke in the 86th minute after excellent work by Maxi Nzengeli in what was a thrilling and exciting game.
The champions of Tanzanian football, Young Africans (Yanga), began their pre-season tour of South Africa on a sour note on Saturday, July 20, 2024, with a 2-1 defeat to Bundesliga team FC Augsburg at the Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga.
FC Augsburg's goals were scored by Mads Pedersen in the 27th minute, and Phillip Tietz in the 80th minute of the match.
Yanga's goal was netted in by Jean Baleke in the 86th minute after excellent work by Maxi Nzengeli in what was a thrilling and exciting game.
Yanga started slowly in the encounter, which was their first since beginning preparations for the upcoming season on July 8, 2024.
In the first half, Yanga's head coach, Miguel Gamondi, started with only one new player, Clatous Chama, who played well alongside other stars such as Stephane Aziz Ki, Clement Mzize, Nzengeli, and Salum “Sure Boy” Abubakar, Ibrahim Bacca, Nickson Kibabage, Dickson Job, Yao Kouasi, and Mudathir Yahya
Yanga created three clear scoring chances in the first half through Nzengeli, Aziz Ki, and Mzize, but were wasted.
However, Yanga's goalkeeper Diarra was the star of the match, denying FC Augsburg four goals in that first half.
In the second half, Gamondi made changes by bringing in Shadrack Bocca, Bakari Mwamnyeto, Duke Abuya, and Azizi Andambwile in place of Kibabage, Ibrahim Bacca, and Salum Abubakar, which increased the pace of the game.
Yanga showed improvement in the second half, especially after Mkude, Shekhan Ibrahim, Jonas Mkude, Jean Baleke, and Prince Dube were brought in.
Head coach Gamondi said, however, that they are still building the team, believings they will perform well in their upcoming matches.
Yanga will return to the same stadium on July 24 to face the hosts, TS Galaxy, and later on July 28, they will compete against Kaizer Chiefs for the Toyota Cup.
