Coastal Union confident ahead of Yanga clash

DAR ES SALAAM: COASTAL Union have stepped up preparations for their meeting with Yanga tomorrow, with the Tangabased side confident they can bounce back from their opening-day defeat against Mashujaa United.

Head Coach Fikiri Elius said his players had been put through intensive preparations, including double training sessions, as they worked on tactics to counter Yanga.

“We have prepared well and given the players the tactics on how we will deal with our opponents,” Elius said.

“We have had double sessions, in the morning and sometimes again in the evening. It is all preparation for the Yanga match.” Elius added that Coastal had studied Yanga’s recent performance against Namungo, allowing his technical team to assess their opponents before the encounter.

“We watched how they played against Namungo, and that gave us a platform to prepare our team,” he said.

Midfielder Chuma Ramadhani acknowledged Yanga’s impressive form and experience but insisted Coastal would not be intimidated.

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“Yanga are doing well at the moment. Since the Community Shield, they have performed well and they have many experienced players,” Ramadhani said.

“However, we have prepared ourselves well. We lost our first match at home, but that was not the team’s intention.” Farid Mussa also urged Coastal supporters to rally behind the team as they look to make amends. “We ask all Coastal fans to stand together because this is our team,” Mussa said.

“We will fight against Yanga and try to get a result. We have gone back to look at where we went wrong and worked to correct those mistakes on the training ground.” Coastal Union’s information officer, Hussein Mchomvu, meanwhile, struck an optimistic note, saying the side’s true campaign would begin with the Yanga fixture.

“We started the league at a low pace after losing our first match, but now we are going to raise the gear,” Mchomvu said. “I think the whole country will be surprised by the type of football we are going to play on the 20th.”

Mchomvu also called on Coastal supporters to turn out in force, describing them as the club’s “12th player” and stressing that their support would be crucial as the team seeks a response against one of Tanzania’s leading sides.