Azam FC have admitted they were outplayed by KMC and did not deserve to get a point from their 1-0 defeat in the Mainland Premier League match on Saturday.
Reliant Lusajo scored the all-important goal after connecting with a pass from Hassan Kibunda to beat Azam keeper David Mapigano, and also hand the title-chasing club their second defeat of the 2020-21 campaign.
Azam assistant coach Vivier Bahati has admitted they were outmuscled by their opponents and could not play their usual passing game and hence did not deserve to get anything from the match played at Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
“I must accept that KMC overpowered us, they took control of the game and destabilised our style of play, in fact, they were the better team and deserved to win,” Bahati is quoted by Sokaletu.
Azam needed three points from the fixture to stretch their lead at the top of the 18-team table but despite the defeat, Bahati is confident they are still in the race for the title.
“In football sometimes, it comes a time when the players’ style is slowed down, they don’t play like they always do and that is what happened to our players, we were outshined and it is part of football,” Bahati continued.
“But the defeat does not mean we are now out of the race for the title, no, we know we still have a long way to go, and we must recover as quickly as we can and make sure we win our next match.
“The race for the title is still far to be decided and what we need to do now is recover, rectify our mistakes against KMC, and get ready for the next match.”
The Chamazi-based giants suffered their first defeat of the season after going down 1-0 to Mtibwa Sugar at Jamhuri Stadium in Morogoro.
Despite losing against KMC, Azam are still on top of the table with 25 points, the same as second-placed Young Africans (Yanga SC), who snatched a 1-1 draw against Namungo FC on Sunday.
Simba SC are third on 23 points after thrashing Coastal Union 7-0 with goals from John Bocco (three), Clatous Chama (two), Bernard Morrison, and Hassan Dilunga.