YOUNG Africans coach Miguel Gamondi described his side's 2-0 win over Azam as a deserved result while Azam trainer Youssouph Dabo blamed lack of maturity for the defeat.
Yanga gallantry marched into the finals of the 2023 Community Shield courtesy of two second-half goals by substitutes Stephanie Aziz Ki and Clement Mzize at a well-attended Mkwakwani Stadium in Tanga on Wednesday evening.
In his post-match- briefing, Gamondi applauded his players' approach of the second half saying they executed well his tactical plan imparted at halftime.
"The first half was very tough and we expected that to happen... but things changed for the better in the second half, especially after the two substitutions we made.
"This made us to have full control of the match and our opponents hardly had a clear scoring chance in the second half and I can say it was a deserved win for us," said the Argentine.
Commenting on the unplanned substitution of Mahlatse Makudubela who limped off the pitch just seven minutes into the game after picking an injury, Gamondi admitted that if affected his initial game plan.
"We did not expect that to happen but the good thing is that we have a depth squad to solve out such cases when they arise," he said.
His counterpart for Azam, Dabo said lack of maturity contributed a lot to their upset insisting that Yanga pressed them a lot in the second half leading to lose control of the match.
"During training sessions, I told the players that when we are pressed, we should find a way out but that could not happen until we allowed them to score two goals," said the Senegalese coach.
On his part, Azam skipper Sospeter Bajana conceded the defeat saying they will go back on the training pitch to sort out the challenges that surfaced during the tense match.
"We blame ourselves for this defeat...the good thing is that the season has just begun hence we must find an immediate solution to enable us to come back stronger in our next competitive matches," he said.
However, the negative outcome has dashed hopes of Azam to begin the new season with silverware in their cupboard which was their top target.
