Young Africans SC head coach Manqoba Mngqithi explained where they lost the match and applauded rivals Simba SC.
The Tanzanian league defending champions suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of their arch-rivals Simba SC, who are under the leadership of Steve Barker.
Mngqithi’s side were leading the game thanks to Peter Shalulile’s opener in the sixth minute before Simba scored two quick goals in the second half, with the equaliser coming from Neo Maema.
The win extended Simba’s unbeaten run to 32 league matches, including a winning streak of 17 consecutive games. Mngqithi explained that when they lost midfielder Duke Abuya after 25 minutes in the first half due to injury, the game changed and Simba took advantage of that.
“I think we started the game very well, showing glimpses of what we are capable of, and scored a beautiful goal as a result and created a few chances before half-time but we were not clinical enough in the final third,” Mngqithi said.
“Unfortunately we lost Duke and I think that’s where it changed and looked different because he is a very important player from our team.
“Inasmuch as we were playing well with the ball but defensively we did not have the legs that we had in the early stages of the game.
“I think the game was lost from that forced substitution of Duke Abuya because our midfield was very strong; the team was playing well but unfortunately, when you lose such a key figure so early in the game, we had to dig very deep.
“And unfortunately our best was not good enough for the day, and credit must be given to Simba; I think they pushed us; they forced errors, and they ran a lot in the second half.
“We tried to improve but unfortunately I think it was too late.”