Ibengé salutes Azam FC for improved second half in Mbeya City win

Congolese tactician Florent Ibengé has explained how a tactical change in the second half enabled his side to register a 2-0 Premier League win against Mbeya City at Azam Complex on Wednesday.

A goal in either half courtesy of Nassor Saadun Hamoud and Feisal Salum, enabled the Ice Cream Makers to kick off their 2025-26 season on a winning note. Their victory came after defending champions Young African had defeated Pamba Jiji 3-0 in their opener at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.

“We scored the two goals because we had to be patient, and again because we played against a side, who played with low blocks, and it is not easy to play against a team like that, we needed to keep the ball to make them run more,” Ibengé told Pan-Africa Football.

“At the half-time break, I asked my players to play a bit faster, to try and take the game to the opponent, we did it and I think we made a better second half than the first half.

“We created a lot of possibilities to score, we scored two goals, we didn’t concede, so we are happy for the two goals and three points. We need to go back and rectify a few mistakes, and get ready for the next assignment.”

‘I tell my players to enjoy football’

Ahead of the game, Ibengé had ruled out suggestions that he was under pressure: “There is no pressure. I tell my players to enjoy football. Everyone is fit, morale is high, and we are ready. We’ve had a good preseason, worked hard in training, and learned from our mistakes. Now it’s time to start well and recover what we lost last season.”

Azam’s next league assignment will be against JKT Tanzania on October 1.

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