Tanzania’s Mrisho Ngasa celebrates his goal against Eritrea during their Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup quarter-final match at the Nyayo National Stadium on Tuesday. Tanzania won 4-0. The Kilimanjaro Stars lock horns with Rwanda in the second semi-final today. Photo/MOHAMMED AMIN
By SAMMY KITULAPosted Wednesday, December 9 2009 at 19:14
Rwanda lock horns with Tanzania in the second semi-final of the Orange Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup at the Nyayo National Stadium Wednesday evening.
Tanzania began their campaign poorly when they lost their first match 1-0 to the defending champions Uganda Cranes in Mumias before squeezing a narrow 1-0 win over Burundi. A sterling showing against Zanzibar and a 4-0 hiding of Eritrea proved enough for the Tanzanians to advance to the semis.
Rwanda, on the other hand, is the only team in this year’s tournament who are yet to lose a match so far. In fact, their defence has been so mean that the only goal they’ve conceded was in their 4-1 drubbing of Cosafa champions Zimbabwe.
Rwanda is as dominant as can be and will look to get on top of the Tanzanians early as most superior teams have when they’ve taken on the Kilimanjaro Stars. All the pressure is off the Rwandans as the Tanzanians are expected to record their fourth victory in a row.
“Rwanda’s a big test, one of the best teams in the tournament right now, so it’s definitely easier for us to go into the game knowing that maybe it’s their time to lose,” surmised Tanzania head coach, Marcio Maximo.
Extremely difficult
Though the Tanzanians cruised through the group play, they know the semis are where the true tests come, and they are not taking the Amavubi Stars for granted.
“All the matches now will be extremely difficult as we know there is no easy rival at this point,” said Maximo. “The Rwandans have a very aggressive midfield. All four midfielders can have an offensive effect, and Yusuf Ndayishime is very dangerous when given space.”
Maximo is aware his squad is not only up against one of the best teams at this point, but also that his players have faced a very difficult logistical schedule as well.
“It’s a short turnaround and they have many of the same players; their ability to play in and out of little spaces and keep the game moving. It’s exciting. We know we have our work cut out for us.”
More competitive
As of now, Rwanda is aiming at bagging their second title and victory today; it would give them a massive injection of confidence before the final on Sunday.
These two teams did face off in the recent past in July, as Tanzania squeezed a 2-1 victory in Kigali, which could give the Kilimanjaro Stars some confidence today.
“We lost 2-1, but there were chances in that game,” said Rwanda head coach, Eric Nshimiyimana. “You play them in the semi-final of a big competition like this and you know it’s going to be that much more competitive, that much harder.
“We’re very excited. This is why you play. When you get to the semi-final of a big competition like this you tend to feel very happy.”
Source:nation.co.ke/
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