The Yanga squad resumed training on Monday to prepare for the second round of the Mainland Premier League, with head coach Pedro Goncalves showing no concern over the absence of first-choice goalkeeper Djigui Diarra, expressing confidence in his replacement, Aboutwalib Mshery.
Diarra will miss Yangaâs next three matchesâtwo league games and one CRDB Federation Cup fixtureâafter being suspended by the Tanzania Premier League Board (TPLB) for misconduct toward a referee during a match against Mtibwa Sugar.
Despite Diarraâs suspension, Yanga is not worried as they boast strong goalkeeping options capable of filling the gap, including Aboutwalib Mshery and Hussein Masalanga, who have both stepped in when the Malian goalkeeper has been unavailable.
This season, Diarra has missed three matches, yet Yanga maintained dominance by winning all of them without conceding a single goal, with Mshery in goal.
Goncalves admitted that losing Diarra is a setback but not a major problem, noting that it is not the first time the team has been without him and that Mshery has consistently performed well when called upon.
âWe have started preparations for the continuation of the league. We had all players available except those on international duty and those injured, but everything is fine. We want to be ready so we can return to winning ways,â he said.
âWe know we wonât be able to use Diarra in the upcoming matches due to suspension. I donât think thereâs any need to talk about Diarraâs abilityâevery team would wish to have a goalkeeper like him.â
This season, Mshery has started in goal in three matches against Fountain Gate, Mashujaa, and Coastal Union, keeping clean sheets in all of them as Yanga won each game.
Yanga has conceded only three goals in 16 matches this seasonâagainst KMC (4-1), Dodoma Jiji (3-1), and Mtibwa Sugar (1-1)âall matches in which Diarra was in goal.
