This archive report was first published on 5 October 2019.
On Saturday, October 5, 2019, Tanzania secured the Cecafa U-20 Championship title by defeating Kenya 1-0 in a closely contested match at the Fufa Technical Centre in Njeru.
The winning goal was scored by Tanzania when John Otieno deflected Kelvin John's freekick from the edge of the box into his own net just before the break.
Rising Stars coach Stanley Okumbi attributed the loss to missed chances, stating, “Football is a game of mistakes and sometimes you commit one and that makes the difference. That is what happened and we had our fair share of chances that we failed to take.”
Tanzania's tactician Zuberi Katwila praised his team's strategy, saying, “We played Kenya in the group stage and we studied them thereafter. They play very physical football and that informed our decision to possess the ball more and deny them opportunities to attack.”
Kenya's cautious approach, which involved sitting back and attacking on the counter, ultimately backfired against a well-drilled Tanzania side that attacked relentlessly throughout the match.
Tanzania's wonderkid Kelvin John Pius won the Golden Boot after emerging top scorer with seven goals and was also named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP).
