Taifa Stars coach trusts his defence-(Tanzania)

Despite the absence of defender Shomari
Kapombe and midfielder Mwinyi Kazimoto,
Taifa Stars coach Kim Poulsen says his defence
line up is still turgid and formidable.
The coach said soon before boarding a flight to
Kampala via Entebbe yesterday that his squad
will display the brand of soccer to earn victory
in Kampala during the return leg tie of the
CHAN qualifiers to be staged at the Nelson
Mandela Stadium on Saturday.
He admitted openly that the absence of
defender Shomari Kapombe and midfielder
Kazimoto has dealt a huge blow to the
Kampala mission. However, he says already the
pot holes can be filled and the squad is upbeat
to avenge the 1-0 loss inflicted by the visitors
at home in Dar es Salaam on July 13.
The coach dismissed allegations that first
choice goalkeeper Juma Kaseja is not in his
usual form as a result of being offloaded by his
club Simba during players’ registration transfer
window.
He says the goalkeeper is still performing
brilliantly and going by his standard Kaseja is
increasingly becoming good.
“There is no doubt about this goalkeeper, I
trust him and even his team mates and we
have a custodian to rely between the posts”,
said Poulsen.
The coach says defending a goal is not only
linked to goalkeeper alone but the entire
defence line up has to work with cooperation
to thwart attacks.
Most of the fans in the country believe the
offloading of Kaseja from Simba’s squad is
linked with fall of his form which the coach is
not in agreement with.
Taifa Stars arrived in Kampala yesterday to
gear up for the return leg of the CHAN
qualifier against Uganda team that has won the
first leg. Taifa Stars strikers wasted a number
of scoring opportunities during the first leg
tie, the weakness which they are obliged to
overcome during the return leg on Saturday.
Taifa Stars have been in trouble to post victory
over the Ugandans in most of the matches
they have played before. Winning in Kampala
against the Ugandan team has been a tall order
to the Tanzanian team.
While Mainland team was beaten by 3-0 goals
during last Challenge Cup semi-final clash
played at the Nelson Mandela Stadium last
December, the Taifa Stars’ best result against
the Cranes was in May 2008 when the teams
drew 1-1 at Nakivubo to push the hosts
outside the CHAN qualifier track.