NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 11- Tanzania head coach Ammy Ninje has warned that his side will be coming in for ‘war’ when they take on Kenya’s Harambee Stars in the final Group A match of the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup on Monday evening.
Tanzania have only managed to get one point from their last three matches and Ninje says they will give their all against Kenya to ensure they go home with at least one win.
“We will approach the game in a professional manner. For us, all the games have been like Cup finals. We are done with three now we have one. We will give all against Kenya. It’s not going to be easy; it will be war. We have to go home with pride. We can’t go home with one point,” Ninje said, looking on to the tie.
The Kilimanjaro Stars have performed below expectation in the tournament but an upbeat Ninje arguesthey have been improving in each match and has vowed to come back better next year in Kampala, Uganda.
“We only had three days to prepare for this tournament so I can’t complain much. I am happy with what the players showed. I am sorry we couldn’t make it to the semis but we have learnt lessons. In our match against Tanzania we played some fantastic football creating chances and hopefully we build on from there,” Ninje said.
He hopes to bow out in style against Kenya, a match that will be hugely important for the hosts whose chances of making it into the semis hinge on what they produce against the Kilimanjaro Stars.
Kenya needs to win to book a slot in the next stage with Zanzibar looking to secure top spot from the group as they face Libya in the early kick off. Tanzania can do their ‘small brothers’ a favor to help them top the group by beating Kenya.
“Definitely now we have to support Zanzibar because they are our brothers and they have shown that they can do it,” Ninje noted.
Zanzibar boss Suleiman ‘Morocco’ Hemed is determined to see his side top the group and has vowed they will throw all guns out to beat Libya and retain top slot.
“We have done well so far and our ambition coming in here was to at least get into the semis. We have achieved that target and now we want to ensure we top the table,” Hemed said.