Poulsen bemoans stars’ absence

Banjul. Taifa Stars head coach Kim Poulsen has bemoaned the absence of key players as the major factor behind his team’s defeat to Gambia in the 2014 World Cup qualifier in Bakau on Saturday night.

Success-starved Stars, who tumbled 2-0 to The Scorpions in their final Group C encounter, are expected to return home today aboard a Kenya Airways flight.

Poulsen said yesterday that his team could have won or forced a draw had it not been for the absence of nine first team players in the match.

“We missed nine key players in Saturday’s game. Their absence was highly felt and cost us dearly,” the Dane, vividly looking disappointed, said. He said there is a need for Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) to ensure players who ply their trade abroad honour a call for national duty if Taifa Stars are to fare impressively in their next assignments.

Lethal strikers Mbwana Samata and Thomas Ulimwengu, who feature for DR Congo’s TP Mazembe, are among key players who missed the match.

Defender Kelvin Yondani, midfielder Athuman Idd, Salum Abubakar, John Boko, Mwinyi Kazimoto, Shomari Kapombe and Aggrey Morris did not travel with the national team to Banjul as well due to injuries. Poulsen’s remarks will likely draw mixed reactions among soccer enthusiasts as he had assured Tanzanians ahead of the match that the absence of the nine players could not affect his team. But now, sensing that pressure is mounting on him, he blames the team’s failure to make a big finish in the qualifiers on the key players’ absence.

In Saturday’s qualifier, Gambia’s Mustapha Jarjue scored once in each half to give the hosts a 2-0 win over Poulsen’s boys who were not impressive.

Jarjue struck on the stroke of half time and in the 51st minute. However, the group has already been won by Cote d’Ivoire who have qualified for the playoffs.

Tanzania ended the group stage with 6 points while Gambia had 4 points. The fourth country in the group is Morocco.

The Dane said his target was to qualify for the 2015 Africa Nations Cup finals and asked TFF to ensure all the players he needs to achieve the mission are at his disposal.

“It’s always painful to lose a match in the tournament of the World qualifying matches magnitude, but this should not derail our fans’ spirits,” he said.

For Gambia, Saturday’s victory was a sweet revenge against Taifa Stars who beat them 2-1 in the first leg at the National Stadium mid this year.