Azam Coach Ibenge: "Our Goal Against Wydad Was Clear; I Feel Sorry for My Players After Defeat"

Florent Ibenge, coach of Tanzania's Azam FC, expressed his deep regret following his team's one-goal defeat to Wydad AC in the second round of the CAF Confederation Cup group stage.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Ibenge said, "I feel very sorry for my players. They ran a lot and played a good game, but unfortunately, we didn't win; we lost. So, I am very sad for them. In any case, this is how we must work to win. The players will not give up."

He added, "Today, the players played good football and tried to win the match. They scored a goal that the referee disallowed, but I believe if you watch it, we will see later that it was a clear goal. We created chances, and I also think we could have been awarded a penalty, but we are not used to complaining. I believe the players did a very good job, but we did not get a good result, and I am sad about that."

Ibenge continued, "Now there are four matches left, and we will give our best to get our first point. We will not give up; we will continue to work. We are learning a lot. I have experience in this competition, but many of the players do not, and we are learning a lot. As you can see, the first match was not good, and today was better. We hope to get points in the next encounter, as we did not reach this stage just to watch other players."

Ibenge further stated, "Matches are not all the same, but we must understand that we need to trust ourselves. We are only playing against ourselves because Azam is not a big team, nor does it carry a big name in Africa. When you are not a big team or a big name in Africa, you have to put in more effort."

He concluded, "Some must work harder, and there is a greater chance of achieving results. So, we are learning that we must work more and more and more to achieve these results. Perhaps the next match will be in Kenya, and we will prepare for it, and we will scout the opposing team to give our best."