Nairobi’s altitude strikes again as visiting coach explains heavy defeat

Tanzania U23 head coach Ahmed Ali is yet another coach to complain of the Nairobi Weather following his team's heavy defeat to Kenya.The two teams met in a 2027 AFCON U23 Qualifiers match on Monday, 28 September at the Nyayo National Stadium with the Emerging Stars handing their Tanzanian counterparts a 4-1 beating.Download our Mozzart Sport App for more newsSpeaking to the press after the match, Ali partly attributed the loss to the difference in altitude between Nairobi and Tanzania.“Our players also complained of the weather which caused breathing problems but that is not an excuse. We needed to adapt,” Ali offered.He is the second coach to complain of the Nairobi altitude in recent times after Al Ahli Wad Madani head coach Aliyu Zubairu also blamed it in his side's 1-0 loss to Tusker on Saturday, 12 September in a CAF Confederation Cup (CAFC CC) qualifier match.Blow for Emerging Stars as influential midfielder ruled out for remainder of the year“In the Kenyan weather sometimes you do not have enough oxygen. When you come from a side with enough to a side that does not have, then it is a challenge and culminates to natural effect. That came up against some of the midfielders and they were not able to cope up,” said ZubairuBack to Ali, the experienced tactician also blamed the defeat of his team set up even as he remained hopeful of overturning the results.“We are not happy with the results. We were not good with our organization, especially off the ball and how we needed to manage our defense. We will retreat to the training ground and plot a comeback in our second game and hopefully we emerge victorious,” he added.##NAJAVA_MECA_9995890##His sentiments were echoed by his Singida midfielder Ahmed Pipino, who also revealed that they will copy the attitude of their Kenyan counterparts.“We are not happy that we conceded many goals but again if they managed to score many goals, we can do that as well because we got many chances but failed to convert them.As players, we have seen how our opponents played and so we will also improve on our sharpness and be proactive in our second game,” he remarked.English manager explains why Harambee Stars have landed a gem in teenage winger