Africa-Press – Tanzania. SIMBA continued to clear their path towards the season’s Mainland Premier League title after a slim 1-0 win over Polisi Tanzania at CCM Kirumba Stadium in Mwanza yesterday.
Evergreen Mozambican attacker, Luis Miquissone netted the solitary goal of the match in the first half.
he victory kept the defending champions afloat at the summit of the 18-team table after reaching 70 points to recreate a six points gap with second placed Young Africans.
The win was Simba’s 22nd of the season, making them the only side in the contest to win more games than any other team, followed by Yanga and Azam with each winning 18 games so far.
It took Simba 27 minutes to break the deadlock thanks to a smartly taken set piece by Miquissone, which landed at the back of Polisi Tanzania net to explode the well attended venue.
The goal simply refreshed Simba, as they began to deploy more red shirts upfront to increase the tally but most of their attempts were off the target.
Prior to the opening goal, Simba had several set-pieces from promising areas to net goals but they were all misused.
The best chance for the hosts came in the 17th minute when striker Tariq Seif had a good run inside Simba box but before he turned to unleash the strike, defender Pascal Wawa was well placed to block him.
The return of Simba’s centre back Joash Onyango who missed a couple of matches due to injury he suffered in their 3-0 win over South Africa side Kaizer Chiefs in CAF Champions League quarter final return leg tie in Dar es Salaam, was a big boost for them as they were unbreakable throughout the first half.
At halftime, Polisi Tanzania coach Malale Hamsin was the first to change his lineup when he brought in Gerald Mathias for Tariq Seif to reshape his striking force.
For Simba, they introduced Meddie Kagere and Erasto Nyoni for Chris Mugalu and Rally Bwalya respectively, who helped to increase the tempo of the game but the scoreboard remain unchanged until the final whistle.
In the 73rd minute, Simba goalkeeper Aishi Manula was forced to make a miraculous save to deny a close range header from Deusdedity Cosmas.
Up next, Simba will host Mbeya City on Tuesday at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam in a match which has already been deemed as a do or die for the visiting side.
In order to cement their chances of top flight league survival next season, Mbeya City ought to win all their remaining three fixtures to stand a good chance of resurfacing next term hence the game against the defending champions will be simply tough.
After Mbeya City duel, Simba will reload their guns ready to face Azam in the Azam Sports Federation Cup (ASFC) semifinals clash to be staged at Majimaji Stadium in Songea, Ruvuma on Saturday.
