AFRICAN FOOTBALL - NEWS

Like Barcelona, Real Madrid we concentrate 

on result, says Ahly coach

Fathi Mabrouk says fans would not forgive a loss even if the team performed well

After beating Petrojet to reach the Egypt Cup final, Ahly coach Fathi Mabrouk said he was concentrating on victory not the performance, because the supporters would not forgive him if Ahly lost.

Ahly came back from being a goal down to beat a resilient Petrojet side 3-1 on Wednesday and reach the Egypt Cup final as they bid to win the competition for the first time since 2007.

Four superb goals included a surprise opener for visitors Petrojet, who grabbed a lead midway through the first half through striker Mohamed Ragab, before Ramadan Sobhi equalized three minutes from half-time in superb fashion.

Left-back Hussein El-Sayed then gave his side the lead in the 70th minute with a swerving effort before substitute Ahmed Fathi made sure of victory two minutes from the end with a left-footed volley.

"Victory was more important for me more than the performance," Mabrouk said in the post game press conference.

"People won't accept a loss even if the players perform well."

"Ahly are like Real Madrid and Barcelona, as they also play less dominant matches but manage to achieve targets," the Ahly tactician added.

"We failed to dominate Petrojet during the first twenty minutes, but eventually we managed to win and dominate the opponents."

"Ahly's players' experience gave us the upper hand and helped us reach the cup final," the Ahly coach concluded.

Ahly will now meet the winner of Thursday's match between Smouha and league champions Zamalek, who will play at Alexandria Stadium.

Manu Garba Named New Giwa FC Coach

Glo Premier League side, Giwa Football Club of Jos, have appointed Manu Garba as their new head coach.
The Jos Elephants announced the former Flying Eagles coach’s appointment on Thursday via their twitter handle and also confirmed that Manu was introduced to the team on Wednesday.

Manu’s appointment follows the resignation of Aminu Musa who quit the club on Wednesday due to family reasons.
He will be the third coach to handle the Jos-based outfit this season.

Tony Bulus who started the season as head coach of the side was sacked after a string of poor results, with Aminu, then the team’s goalkeeper trainer, assuming the role of acting chief coach.

Manu previously handled his hometown club, Gombe United, and returns to club management after stints with Nigeria’s age-grade teams.

His first game in charge of his new team will be a home tie against Sharks Football Club of Port Harcourt on Sunday.

Giwa are fifth on the log with 46 points from 29 matches.

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WAFA to beef up squad with experience

WAFA SC would be looking to blood their young side with a few experienced legs for next season, the club has revealed.

The Academy side survived their return to the Ghanaian elite division by a point on the final day of the season, ending up as arguably the most exciting side in the just ended 2014/15 First Capital Plus Premier League.

With a squad with an average age of 18 years, WAFA held their own as they battled to a goalless draw game with big boys Hearts of Oak to close the season at 11th place with 41 points – one better than Heart of Lions and Great Olympics who joined B.A United on relegation.

WAFA’s technical director, Sam Arday has been savouring their survival.

“It was a very close call and I think we were very lucky to have survived the First Capital Plus Premier League. Our play was very much appreciated by many fans, but I think we need to do more ahead of the next football season,” he said.

“It was tough on the young lads, but I feel they did very well, beating teams like Asante Kotoko and others. But there will be the need to get one or two experienced players to help the young lads make the team better,” Arday, the former Ghana coach added.

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Wanga scores debut goal at Azam

Kenyan international striker Allan Wanga netted his debut goal for Tanzania giants Azam FC as his side cruised to a 2-0 win over Wednesday opponents Stand United in their midweek clash.

Wanga netted in what was his second straight start for the side since the start of the season kick off last weekend. Frank Rymond Domayo netted the other goal for Azam in the away match to hand Stewart Hall’s boys the three points.

In one of his social media pages after the game, Allan Wanga expressed his feelings confirming the importance of the opening goal.

“Thank You God for the goal and the three points,” read the brief post after the game.

This was a correct signal from the striker with the Azam team boasting of a powerful front line that sees Kipre Tchetche and Didier Kavubagu start from the bench.

A slip in form would therefore be detrimental to his career at the club especially as they aim at the title that they hope to clinch after their second place finish last season.

Wanga is leading the striking alongside Tanzania sensational striker John Bocco but the Head Coach has challenged the strikers to ensure that the side wins by a wider margin.

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SAFA boss defends Mashaba

South African Football Association CEO Dennis Mumble has defended Shakes Mashaba amid a barrage of criticism levelled at the Bafana Bafana coach.

Mashaba's performance has come under the microscope in recent times following a string of poor results, the most recent of which saw Bafana suffer their second consecutive defeat in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Much of the criticism has centered around Mashaba's squad selections as well as his regular rotation of the captain's armband.

However, Mumble insists Mashaba is merely following the mandate given to him at the start of his reign.

"I hear people criticising the rotation of the captaincy for instance and the number of players that he has used," Mumble was quoted as saying by Times Live.

"That is the mandate from us. We said he must broaden his pool so that there are more players available on the international stage.

"We are still on the right track and told him not to expect miracles. So we are not going to put pressure on him, at least not for the first two years because he needs to build a team in that period."

Mumble commented specifically on Mashaba's squad selection policy as well as the stumbling blocks the coach has faced in trying to follow his mandate.

"Anywhere in the world, administrators don't go in and tell the coach whom to pick," Mumble added.

"I think that is sacrosanct in world football. We are also very protective, especially when clubs don't want him to select certain players because that is tantamount to telling the coach whom to select.

"There's an established set of criteria that he uses, which is common practice and came out of the technical master plan that we adopted in 2010," Mumble said.

"[But] we are obviously getting to a point where the experiments will have to come to an end because we need to solidify a team going into the AFCON in the next 18 months - a team that is going to play together consistently for some time.

"I think we must all pack our bags if we don't put those building blocks in place and don't do well at the 2022 World Cup."

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