Africa-Press – Tanzania. SIMBA captain John Bocco said he will be happy to see his side retain the Mainland Premier League title at the end of the season, saying he works hard for the team.
The defending champions were on rampage at CCM Kirumba Stadium in Mwanza on Thursday as they dismantled Ruvu Shooting 3-0 in an eye catching league match at a well-attended venue.
Following the victory, Simba posted 67 points at the summit of the table, establishing a six-point gap in the process after 27 matches, while the second place occupants Young Africans remained distant second on 61 points from 29 outings.
Azam cling to third slot with 60 points in the bag after 30 games, meaning that a tense battle will be seen between Yanga and Azam on who will finish the season as runners up to earn a ticket of featuring in the CAF Champions League next season.
“The big thing is to see my team lifting the league title. I keep working hard for the team to continue lifting the spirit of all players. “On winning the golden boot, I left that to God because he always decides on our destiny. I laud my fellow teammates for putting on a spirited fight, which enabled us to win in the end,” Bocco said.
On his side Assistant Coach Seleman Matola was pleased by the team’s performance, saying their intention remains clear… that is to retain the league title.
Matola said discipline plus hard work were catalysts which propelled them to stamp the big win.
“We always get headache when it comes to selecting which striker among the three (John Bocco, Chris Mugalu and Meddie Kagere) should start in a particular match because they all have scoring instincts, which is a blessing to us,” said Matola.
The trio contributed 34 goals to a total of 64 goals the team has netted so far, with Bocco leading the score chart for his team after scoring 13 goals, Kagere 11 goals and Mugalu ten goals.
“We still need nine or ten points to win the title and we will keep taking each match as it comes and are certain to win all remaining seven matches,” Matola said.
He said their match against Ruvu Shooting was very good and his team was able to dominate the game from the onset to the final whistle.
“The match was good, we were able to dominate and use all our chances. We really needed the win and we attained our mission,” Matola said, lauding defenders Kennedy Juma and Erasto Nyoni for putting up a firm performance at the heart of defence. On his part, Ruvu Shooting Coach Charles Boniface Mkwasa conceded the defeat, blaming his players for lack of concentration.
“They (players) made silly mistakes, which were capitalised by our opponents. “In both the first and second goals, we delayed in marking, thereby giving room to Simba to punish us. I accept the results and there is nothing we can do to alter them,” he said.
About the two red cards shown to his captain Juma Nyoso and goalkeeper Abdallah Rashid, Mkwasa said it is a big blow ahead of their upcoming matches and he never expected such decision from the referee.
“Most of our remaining four matches will be played at our Mlandizi venue hence we have enough time to correct mistakes which surfaced since the league will resume on June 17th,” said him.
The defeat saw Ruvu Shooting stuck to the tenth place on the table with 37 points from 30 league assignments a place which is not completely safe for them.
