Simba SC players
Simba led 1-0 until the breather, with Rwandan midfielder, Patrick Mafisango, scoring the opener on the 18th minute after capitalizing on the defensive mistake by Mtibwa Sugar defenders. Mtibwa defenders took time to clear the ball inside the area and Mafisango quickly reacted to beat keeper, Deogratius Munishi with a weak shot to claim the slim lead.
The hosts, though, attacked the most right from the kick off only to be let down by poor finishing, in which the striking force blasted over on several attempts. Mtibwa Sugar striker, Hussein Javu, wasted what could have been the opener for his side in the very first minute of the match after his shot went narrowly wide.
Javu, again, went close the following second when he was released by right fullback, Juma Jaffary, but the former’s power packed shot was saved by Simba keeper, Juma Kaseja. Kaseja was called to action in the 10th minute as he parried away a shot from Javu for an abortive corner kick.
It was then Simba’s turn to threaten their opponents, in which left fullback, Shomary Kapombe, saw his close range effort fly over Mtibwa crossbar on the 15th minute as the Msimbazi Street side searched for goal. Mtibwa attacked in earnest on resumption and levelled matters on the 52nd minute through Javu, who pounced on a loose ball to slam home after Simba defenders, Derrick Walulya and Juma Nyoso, failed to clear it.
Simba could have added the second from the spot kick six minutes later but Mafisango, despite having been allowed to take the shot twice, missed after his shot was saved by keeper Munishi. Simba won the penalty after Ugandan striker, Emmanuel Okwi, was felled by Mtibwa’s Daud inside the area. Zambian striker, Felix Sunzu, then scored the second goal for Simba with a header on the 74th minute as he connected home a free kick taken by Okwi.
The free kick was awarded to Simba after the Ugandan was fouled by Daud. Meanwhile, Azam FC kept their title pursuit intact with a nail-biting 1-0 win over Ruvu Shooting at the latter’s Chamazi Stadium on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam yesterday. Mercurial winger Mrisho Ngasa scored the lone goal of the match during the second half to seal the slim but crucial victory for Stewart Hall’s men, who are trying their first top flight trophy.
The results means that Azam FC move back to second position in the league table with 44 points from 21 games and have leapfroged defending champions Yanga, who had briefly climbed to second spot, having edged out Villa Squad 1-0 on Saturday. Yanga have so far collected 43 points but have a game on hand. Ruvu Shooting, meanwhile, remain seventh in the league with 24 points after playing 24 games.
In another development, the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) has appointed Rwandan referee Hudu Munyemana to officiate in the forthcoming Confederation Cup match between Mainland Premier League giants, Simba SC and ES Setif of Algeria. Simba host the Algerian outfit, ES setif, for the first round first leg match of the CAF Confederation Cup next Sunday at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam, with the return leg due in Algeria in a fortnight.
And according to a statement released by the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF), Munyemana would be assisted by his compatriots Theogene Ndagijimana and Edouard Bahizi, while Zimbabwean Felix Tangawarima will be the match commissioner. Should Simba overcome ES Setif over the two legs, they will come against the winner between El Ahly Shandy of Sudan and Ferroviario de Maputo of Mozambique in the second round.
By JOHN NDITI, Tanzania Daily News
