Mngqithi: We must take our chances

Dar es Salaam. Young Africans (Yanga) head coach Manqoba Mngqithi has warned his players to be more clinical after the Tanzanian champions survived a tense CAF Champions League first preliminary-round tie against Botswana’s Gaborone United.

Yanga advanced to the second preliminary round after a 2-1 victory in the return leg at Azam Complex on Saturday, sealing a 3-2 aggregate triumph after the two teams had drawn 1-1 in the opening leg in Gaborone.

Peter Shalulile put Yanga ahead in the seventh minute before Cheick Touré doubled the advantage late in the match. Gaborone United pulled one back through Lebogang Ditsele, setting up a nervous finish, but Mngqithi’s side held on to book their place in the next round.

Despite the victory, Mngqithi was unhappy with Yanga’s failure to convert the numerous chances they created, saying the match could have produced a much bigger scoreline had his players been more clinical.

“I am very unhappy that we did not convert the chances we created. But I am happy that the boys got through to the second round,” Mngqithi said.

The South African tactician dismissed suggestions that the missed opportunities were mainly caused by the condition of his starting strikers, explaining that one of them was withdrawn because of a groin problem and was never expected to play the full 90 minutes.

“I would be unfair to the players to say they missed chances because of that. They worked hard and gave the team what we wanted, but unfortunately we did not convert the chances we created,” he said.

Mngqithi said Yanga produced a dominant performance, particularly after controlling the game for long periods, although he admitted his players became less disciplined after scoring their second goal.

“They were not really dangerous. Up until the time we scored the second goal, the boys controlled the game. After scoring the second goal, we relaxed a little bit, but honestly, I think it was still a very dominant performance,” he said.

The coach admitted that better finishing would have allowed him to introduce more players who have not had enough playing time, but insisted the most important thing was securing qualification.

“We must not focus on the negatives. The main negative is that we did not finish the game early because I wanted to give some other players a chance to play,” he said.

Yanga will now face Madagascar’s CFFA in the second preliminary round, with the winner of the tie moving closer to the Champions League group stage.

Mngqithi believes the biggest lesson from the Gaborone United tie is straightforward.

“Take your chances, because you will regret it if you don’t take your chances,” he said.