The Burundian tactician concedes they were beaten by a well-oiled side in the away tie but calls on his players to stay focused
Yanga SC coach Cedric Kaze has given credit to Coastal Union after they ended the team’s unbeaten run in the Mainland Premier League on Thursday.
The Jangwani giants were the only unbeaten side in the top-flight heading into matchday 21 but the run was shattered after goals from Erick Okorai and Said Mudathir gave the home team the 2-1 win despite Tuisila Kisinda’s strike in the match at Mkwakwani Stadium.
The defeat was also the first for the Burundian coach since he joined the side as a replacement for Serbian Zlatko Krmpotic, and speaking after the match, Kaze conceded they deserved to lose in the game and took his time to congratulate the winners for putting up a good display.
“It is true we have lost three points and I want to take this chance to give credit to our opponents [Coastal Union], they played very well more than, they had the determination to win the game more than us and they were very fast on the ball, so they deserved to beat us,” Kaze told Goal after the game.
“Even after scoring the second goal they [Coastal Union] continued to play hard on us without defending and if you check how they controlled the ball, I simply want to give them credit.
“We had a very bad day, first minutes into the game we lost a penalty and then two minutes later we conceded the first goal, and all this put us under huge pressure but we pulled level, and again we pressed them to score, but we failed to maintain compact at the back as we all moved forward, and it gave them space to use the midfield and they scored their second goal.”
On whether he will blame his players for the defeat, Kaze said: “We don’t have time to complain or pick on individuals for the result, we need to go back and plan, we have to go to the drawing board as a team and plan since we have a game on Sunday.”
On whether Yanga are still in the title race, Kaze said: “We still have 12 matches to play for and we need to lift ourselves up now and win our matches, it is still too early to talk about the title.”
Kaze has further blamed the team’s defensive tactics for the defeat, insisting they gave their opponents too much room to meet the ball and it turned out to be costly.
“I must admit we must always fight for a win and if not a win then we must get a draw from our matches but again my players are not getting it right, they move forward looking for goals and left a gap in the back, and we were punished,” Kaze continued.
“It is the discipline tactic which caused us the game especially in the second half, and we will talk about it, we will train and work on that problem but the most important thing is for us to lift ourselves up, without help from anyone.
“Like the first goal, it was a cross from the wing and the keeper did not manage it well, so they scored and for the second, I can say we lacked compactness as a team and allowed Coastal Union players to invade our danger zone which is very wrong, and it is not about defenders coming back to defend, no…even the midfielder are supposed to come back and give defenders the support.
“But today [Thursday], I can say at some point, our defenders were not sharp to reach the ball quickly and it allowed their strikers to get the balls easily, turn and dribble easily but we will work on all the issues.”
Despite the defeat, Yanga are still top of the 18-team table with 49 points from the 22 matches played and they have recorded 14 wins, seven draws, and a loss, scoring 35 goals in the process and conceding 13.
The Timu ya Wananchi giants will next face Biashara United in another league match on Sunday.