Sports / Soccer
Soma Phiri raises red flag
06 Jun 2018 at 07:03hrs | Views
BOTTOM placed Bulawayo City FC coach Amini Soma-Phiri has raised a red flag on his players' fitness levels.
Soma-Phiri, who was brought in to save the local authority bankrolled club, has been in charge of four City games in which they got only four points.
In his first game in charge of City, Soma-Phiri won 2-0 and emerged from that game boasting that he was a winner. They faced a baptism of fire in a 0-4 mauling by Ngezi Platinum Stars in their next game before falling 0-1 to Highlanders.
On Saturday, City surrendered a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 with Yadah, a result that left Soma-Phiri with mixed feelings.
He said the only positives he'd witnessed in his team despite anchoring the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League is that they managed to score three goals, but is worried by the rate at which they are conceding.
Since taking over, City have conceded eight goals in four games, an average of two goals per game, and scored five.
"As a coach when you are in a situation like this (bottom of the table) you should be worried. But time will come (where they get it right), the race is still on. We led 3-0 and let it go. We only need to work on our fitness," said Soma-Phiri.
"The steam is lacking in our team; that's the only thing I found from these guys when I took over. There were two things we identified as problems; one, we were not scoring and secondly we were conceding. I'm happy we scored three goals, but conceding three goals is a cause for concern for me."
He also spoke about the need to work on his players' fitness.
Word has it that he has introduced three workouts a day for his charges, as he seeks to improve their fitness levels.
"I've been here for about three weeks and I found a team without steam. I inherited a team lacking steam. Maybe the previous coach wasn't working on fitness. At training we've to do workouts that will make sure that we defend the goals we score," said Soma-Phiri.
City anchor the table with 11 points from 15 games. They are left with two games before reaching the halfway stage and need to start collecting maximum points to move out of the drop zone.
City face wounded Harare giants Caps United in their next game in the capital and wrap up the first half of the season with a home game against equally struggling Mutare City Rovers.
Fixtures
Saturday: Nichrut FC v Triangle (Ascot Stadium), ZPC Kariba v Harare City (Nyamhunga Stadium) Chicken Inn v Herentals (Luveve Stadium) Caps United v Bulawayo City (National Sports Stadium) Ngezi Platinum v FC Platinum (Baobab Stadium)
Sunday: Mutare City v Dynamos (Vengere Stadium) Shabanie Mine v Black Rhinos (Maglas Stadium), Highlanders v Bulawayo Chiefs (Barbourfields Stadium) Yadah v Chapungu (National Sports Stadium).
Soma-Phiri, who was brought in to save the local authority bankrolled club, has been in charge of four City games in which they got only four points.
In his first game in charge of City, Soma-Phiri won 2-0 and emerged from that game boasting that he was a winner. They faced a baptism of fire in a 0-4 mauling by Ngezi Platinum Stars in their next game before falling 0-1 to Highlanders.
On Saturday, City surrendered a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 with Yadah, a result that left Soma-Phiri with mixed feelings.
He said the only positives he'd witnessed in his team despite anchoring the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League is that they managed to score three goals, but is worried by the rate at which they are conceding.
Since taking over, City have conceded eight goals in four games, an average of two goals per game, and scored five.
"As a coach when you are in a situation like this (bottom of the table) you should be worried. But time will come (where they get it right), the race is still on. We led 3-0 and let it go. We only need to work on our fitness," said Soma-Phiri.
"The steam is lacking in our team; that's the only thing I found from these guys when I took over. There were two things we identified as problems; one, we were not scoring and secondly we were conceding. I'm happy we scored three goals, but conceding three goals is a cause for concern for me."
He also spoke about the need to work on his players' fitness.
Word has it that he has introduced three workouts a day for his charges, as he seeks to improve their fitness levels.
"I've been here for about three weeks and I found a team without steam. I inherited a team lacking steam. Maybe the previous coach wasn't working on fitness. At training we've to do workouts that will make sure that we defend the goals we score," said Soma-Phiri.
City anchor the table with 11 points from 15 games. They are left with two games before reaching the halfway stage and need to start collecting maximum points to move out of the drop zone.
City face wounded Harare giants Caps United in their next game in the capital and wrap up the first half of the season with a home game against equally struggling Mutare City Rovers.
Fixtures
Saturday: Nichrut FC v Triangle (Ascot Stadium), ZPC Kariba v Harare City (Nyamhunga Stadium) Chicken Inn v Herentals (Luveve Stadium) Caps United v Bulawayo City (National Sports Stadium) Ngezi Platinum v FC Platinum (Baobab Stadium)
Sunday: Mutare City v Dynamos (Vengere Stadium) Shabanie Mine v Black Rhinos (Maglas Stadium), Highlanders v Bulawayo Chiefs (Barbourfields Stadium) Yadah v Chapungu (National Sports Stadium).
Source - chronicle
