Author: BENJAMIN BEN
AfricaPress-Tanzania: SIMBA confidently marched into the semifinals of Azam Sports Federation Cup ( ASF C ), setting a date with Young Africans, after thrashing Azam F C 2-0 in the quarterfinal clash.
At a nearly half full National Stadium in Dar es Salaam, Simba came with intent to win from the onset and the first half goal by John Bocco was spiced up by Clatous Chama strike in the second half to seal the precious victory for the Reds.
It was the fifth victory for Simba out of five matches against Azam in all competition this season.
Bocco put Simba ahead with a towering header, sneaking in between goalkeeper Benedict Haule and Never Tigere to power home a well dropped in cross from Francis Kahata in the 39th minute.
It was 2-0 in the 56th minute, when Chama netted a stunning goal after latching onto Shomary Kapombe blistering cross.
This means Simba will face traditional rivals Yanga in the semifinal of the tournament, whose ultimate winner will represent the country in CAF Confederation Cup next season.
Meanwhile YOUNG Africans Head Coach Luc Eymael hailed resilient Kagera Sugar’s performance in their 2-1 victory on Tuesday night at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
Yanga came from a goal down to snatch a win in the second half courtesy of two goals from David Molinga and Deus Kaseke, who netted via a controversial spot kick after Mrisho Ngasa was tackled just at the edge of the penalty box.
The results saw the Jangwani Street side cruising into the semi-finals of the prestigious Azam Sports Federation Cup (ASFC), whose winner represent the nation in CAF Confederations Cup.
The visitors took the lead early in the first half, thanks to a teasing aerial ball volleyed by Awesu Awesu, who later received marching orders midway into the second half thereby enabling his side to wind up the game with ten men.
At a post-match press briefing, Eymael was full of praise of Kagera Sugar, saying they have good players capable to win matches.
He also repeatedly lauded his striker Molinga, saying he had a great match on the day despite limping off the pitch in the second half after picking an injury.
“His performance was not bad, he was able to hold the ball and he even scored. He was fighting hard even though he still lacks fitness.
“Remember he also saved us in the 2-2 match against Namungo FC in a league match but he has at least four kilograms to reduce his weight a bit,” Eymael said.
However, the coach revealed that he ousted playmaker Bernard Morrison from his camp on Tuesday morning due to what he said bad misbehavior from the player.
“I decided to remove him from the camp this morning (Tuesday) and the club will make announcement about that. There are rules for everybody including him (Morrison) which needs to be followed,” he said.
Queried which team he would prefer to face in the semi-finals of the competition, Eymael simply replied that he will play against a good team.
“Both Simba and Azam are good teams, thereby; I will face a good team. I do not prefer anybody but the fans out there do,” he said.
On his part, Kagera Sugar Head Coach Mecky Mexime declined to comment about the match, saying he has left everything for Tanzanians who watched the game to judge.
“We have lost but people have seen the game of football. I do not have much to say apart from that,” he said.
His player Awesu said he was surprised with the red card decision made by the referee Shomari Lawi, saying he did nothing wrong only to see him (referee) flashing the red card to him.
“I did not even insult him and I am surprised like you do about the circumstances surrounding the incident,” he said.
Again, Kagera Sugar’s current top goal scorer Yusuph Mhilu revealed that after the nosedive in the ASFC, they will now focus on the top flight league duels to finish on the top four of the ladder.
