SIMBA SC Head Coach, Sven Vanderbroek was livid with the CCM Kirumba Stadium pitch, saying it was unplayable and curtailed his team’s movements.
Simba regained their eightpoint lead at the summit of the Vodacom Premier League (VPL) following a hard fought 2-1 win over Mbao at the CCM Kirumba Stadium in Mwanza on Thursday.
Midfielders Hassan Dilunga and Jonas Mkude scored in either half as Waziri Junior reduced the margin in second half but Simba hanged on to register crucial maximum points in race for the silverware.
Simba opened an eight point gap at the top of the league table after hauling 38 points from 15 matches.
Coastal Union are placed second on 30 points from 17 matches, while Azam FC, who beat Lipuli FC from Iringa 2-0 at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday night are third on 29 points from 14 matches.
It means, Simba recovered from a previous set back in the league after being pegged back by their traditional rivals Young Africans following a 2-2 draw at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam on January 4th this year.
The Reds, however, are undefeated in the ongoing league in post-Patrick Aussems era with the Vanderbroeck yet to lose a league battle.
Vanderbroeck has registered his fourth league victory since taking charge of the team.
Speaking shortly after the match, Belgian trainer said poor quality of the pitch due to rainfall made it difficult for Simba to display their usual slick passing game.
Vanderbroeck said his team had to change their game plan because the pitch was full of water due to the ongoing rainfall in Mwanza city.
“It was really difficult under this circumstances…we were not able to play our really game on the ground but still in the first half we started well and dominated,” Vanderbroeck said.
The former Zambia and Niki Volos FC gaffer revealed their opponents opted for long balls and counter attack that helped them to pull one goal back.
Simba right wing back Shomari Kapombe said; “We took our chances to win the game, our opponents packed the midfield and the coach told us to exploits the flanks and set pieces, which worked really well on them.”
Mbao FC Assistant Coach Abdulmutik Haji said his team played well but failed to utilize the created chances. He now promised they are focusing to win their away matches against Ndanda and Namungo FC.
On his side, Mbao attacker Herbert Lukindo lauded Simba for winning the match.
“We committed mistakes and our opponents capitalised on them to win the match,” he said.
Mbao, who are winless in their past four consecutive league matches remains 14th placed from 17 matches.
It has been a back foot start of the season by Mbao, who are still struggling to get winning consistency in the ongoing league and they are not safe from the relegation zone.
From their 17 games, Mbao have just won four matches with six draws and seven losses in that order to garner 18 points.
