Israel Saria
Despite a shocking 2-0 defeat inflicted on his team by well drilled Uganda the Cranes in the Challenge Cup opener on Sunday, Marcio Maximo has strongly defended his players.
In a cover up of choosing goalkeeper Muharam Mohamed to replace off-form Shaaban Dihile, Maximo said his boys played well and there is no one to blame on the defeat.
He said the Mozambican-based goalkeeper played impressively and all the goals resulted from brilliant play of their opponents.
“The boys played well, including goalkeeper Muharam, and no one should point a finger of accusation for any poor play. They fought gallantly up to the final whistle but soccer game is decided by goals which my boys fell short of,” said Maximo after the Sunday’s shocking defeat.
Fans at home have been shocked by the defeat as Kilimanjaro Stars have to work above the call of duty should they need to win the quarterfinal berth with victory as the only option on card.
Maximo said his team is still in contention and not out yet. While fans at home have been highly frozen with the defeat while unsure of the team’s progression, Maximo remains upbeat.
“We have lost the match to a better side but not yet out,” said Maximo, who is under pressure to resign from home fans.
The Kilimanjaro Stars-Zanzibar Heroes match is almost a decisive for the former as three points can rarely take a team into the quarterfinals should they win over Burundi.
However, Burundi will be a different side on Friday when they meet Kilimanjaro Stars as they would possibly throw everything into the match to maintain prestige.
In related development, Zanzibar coach Hemed Morocco said they have nothing to fear in the rest of the remaining matches as they will be striving to post wins all the way to the title podium.
Zanzibar, which had a shaky preparations towards the tournament, has highly determined players most likely to send shivers into Kilimanjaro Stars’ camp today.
Real, Maximo is correct because you can not judge the team performance for the only single game played. Football fans they have to accept that we have a good side but in this tournament all teams are well prepared so to win or to lose is all accepted outcome in football and no one is willing to lose even a single match. Let us remain united and this is not the right time to point finger to our coaches. We believe on you boys and let you remain determinant.