Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE management of Simba has lifted the lid on the suspension of veteran midfielder Jonas Mkude saying the outcome of his case will be unveiled next week.
Mkude missed the Premier League game against Ihefu FC on Wednesday at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam of which Simba won 4-0 as he is still under the umbrella of suspension due to ‘indiscipline acts’ claimed to have been done by the player.
However, in her brief remarks over the matter, the club’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Barbara Gonzalez appealed for calm as the issue is being sorted out by the disciplinary committee.
“For now, people should wait for the way forward about his case which is being heard by the disciplinary committee whose results will be made public next week. Discipline at work is very important…you all know about that,” she said.
Moreover, the CEO narrated that Simba squad is set to regroup today to officially begin preparations for their reverse CAF Champions League (CAF CL) match against FC Platinum scheduled on Wednesday next week.
It is therefore a puzzle as to whether Mkude will play in the upcoming big CAF Champions League match against Zimbabwe based side FC Platinum or not. On his part, coach Sven Vandenbroeck declined to comment further about Mkude situation saying it was not his task to clarify on the matter.
But, giving his post-match update, the Belgian trainer said winning 4-0 was a good way to finish the year such that he is looking forward to begin the New Year positively by doing well in the CAF CL match on Wednesday.
“If you win 4-0, it is not because of one or two players but it’s because of eleven players. We have a good squad with different players and different skills. The job of a coach is to put everyone in a position where players can do what they like,” he said.
He also disclosed that one complaint he had about the game was that in the second half, his side did not exploit spaces and chances so as to make the score margin high.
With the outcome, debutants Ihefu are still inferior to Simba this season as they have lost both matches in the league with the opening game of the campaign elapsing at Sokoine Stadium in Mbeya elapsing 2-1 in favour of the defending champions.
However, after the Platinum match, Simba will head to Zanzibar for Mapinduzi Cup in which they are put in group B together with Mtibwa Sugar and Chipukizi.
Ihefu coach Zuberi Katwila commented that the initial game plan he prepared did not perfectly work out as he was compelled to change it as the game unfolded.
“In the first half, my plan A could not give tangible results while in the second half, I came up with plan B which at least worked better as we managed to block them no wonder they scored only one goal but, it was already too late to produce big impact to our side,” Katwila remarked.
