Angola Coach Goncalves Disappointed With Draw Result

(file photo).

Angola coach Pedro Goncalves has expressed his dismay following his side's goalless draw with Mauritania in the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) in the Algerian city of Oran on Friday.

The Portuguese tactician was visibly distraught in the post-match press conference as he lamented on how despite the result, he was proud of his team's performance at the Miloud Hadefi Stadium.

"We tried to control the game like we did against Mali. We played well but when I look back at the first game, drawing made us very fragile. We tried to score from several chances, and we imposed our philosophy, but Mauritania defended well," Goncalves said in the post-match press conference.

"We could have scored from a corner chance but in general, we fell short today. We imposed our philosophy in the game, but Mauritania was a fresh team. We made some counterattacks to find opportunities to score but we did not make it count in the final third."

"We continued to go forward against our opponents, but it was a difficult game that we tried to change. We tried all we could, but Mauritania defended very well. In the last minutes of the game, we defended well to avoid conceding late like we did in our first game against Mali but on the other side, we could not score."

"Now, it is a very difficult situation for us even though we are on top of the group. Of course, we can have some hope. We do not have to hide from the situation. Qualification to the next round is now between two teams which will try to win and do their best to achieve their objective. For the moment, we are not qualified."

Angola have amassed two points following two draws in Group D and sit top of the table standings ahead of Mauritania and Mali who have one point from one game.

The two sides meet on January 24 at the same stadium at 1600hrs GMT.

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.