Romain Folz blames condition of pitch as Young Africans drop first points

Young Africans coach Romain Folz blamed the poor condition of the pitch for denying his side victory following their 0-0 Tanzania Premier League draw against Mbeya City at Sokoine Stadium in Mbeya on Tuesday.

Despite creating several scoring opportunities and ending the game as the dominant side, the reigning champions were not able to break down the resilient Mbeya side. The game ended with Yanga dropping their first points of the season.

‘It is probably one of the worst pitches’

“It is not about how the opponents played, I think the most difficult part of the game, and not scoring was the fact that the pitch did not help, the pitch was very difficult, it is probably one of the worst pitches I have seen for years,” Folz told Pan-Africa Football.

“When you get into the final stages of your sequence and you are looking to give your final pass or even a shot, it was very difficult because the way you have to prepare, and the body balance that you need to execute those actions, are very much compromised by the surface that we had today.

“As much as we missed a lot of chances, it is not that much about the quality that was missing, I believe we were so much impacted by the pitch.”

Mbeya City elated to grab vital point from Yanga

Meanwhile, Mbeya City coach Malale Hamsini was elated to grind out a point against a quality Young Africans side.

“We never prepared to draw or lose in a game, every day you plan to win, and we had come here with the purpose of beating Yanga, but we have managed a draw which we are happy to take home, the point coming from a champions looks like a win for us,” said Hamsini.

The draw left Yanga sixth on the league table with three points gained from their opening 3-1 win against Pamba Jiji. Yanga will shift focus to their second preliminary fixture of the CAF Champions League against Silver Strikers of Malawi.

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