Tanzanian coach Bakari Shime has apologised for the disappointing result in the final of the 2019 Cecafa Senior Women Challenge Cup while promising to respond positively in other upcoming tournaments.
The Kilimanjaro Queens surrendered the trophy to Kenya on Monday at Azam Complex in Dar es Salaam after a 2-0 defeat, which was the Queens' only loss in the competition.
Held at a fully packed stadium, the home team could not manage to claim the much-needed victory to satisfy Tanzanians despite putting it all on the battlefield.
Super substitute Jentrix Shikangwa netted twice in the second half as Kenya finished the tournament undefeated.
“It’s always sad to lose a big match in front of home fans at your own turf,” Shime is quoted by Daily News.
“These people [the fans] abandoned their activities to come here and support their team despite being a working day hence they wanted nothing less than victory.”
Shime however, blamed the referee for making what he called biased decisions, saying they were deprived of two clear penalties and their opponents were given an easy spot-kick instead.
“From the way we played, we deserved to be the champions but things have gone in the opposite direction. Again, let me thank the home fans for their massive attendance in all the games we played. This gave us the energy to work hard,” Shime continued.
Tanzanian captain Asha Rashid, meanwhile, blamed the defeat on minor mistakes which their opponents capitalised on.
“In football, you get punished for the mistakes you make. We committed mistakes and our opponents utilised them well," Rashid acknowledged.
On her side, player of the tournament Mwanahamisi Omary said they were unlucky to retain the title for the third time in a row.
“The only thing I can say is we were not lucky to defend the silverware. I believe that when you lose a game, you get a chance to see the weakness of your team and fix them ahead of your next games,” she said.
