YOUNG Africans will be seeking to end their winless run in the Mainland Premier League, as they face Alliance FC at the Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam today.
It will be the battle between the 4th and 13th league occupants on the table with both teams looking sharp to pocket nothing less than vital three points as the Mainland Premier League season slowly fade away.
The 27-time champions lately have had a bumpy ride after sailing winless in their four back to back encounters which saw them losing 12 points in the process.
However, a recent 1-0 victory over Gwambina FC in the Azam Sports Federation Cup (ASFC) has enabled to restore back winning confidence among the players and all eyes will be on them to see how they will respond in today’s league battle.
Yanga Communication Officer, Hassan Bumbuli revealed yesterday that they are ready to tear apart any team which comes on the way with the first victim set to be Alliance.
“All players are in good health and those who were shortlisted for injuries have recovered such that it is the duty of the technical bench to see who will be fit for tomorrow’s (today) match,” said Bumbuli.
He further disclosed that the team’s duo Patrick Sibomana and Feisal Salum, who have not been featured for a long time had special family issues to take care and that they are now back to continue serving their club.
“We already defeated them (Alliance FC) 2-1 in Mwanza in the first round of the league and we want to replicate that good performance against them in tomorrow’s (today) match. While insisting that they have sharpened their blunt knife to tear apart any team which comes on their way,” he said.
Adding, Bumbuli said basing on the preparations they have had prior to the match, claiming maximum three points is their number one priority hence called on more fans to descend at the venue to back up their team to glory.
“We will only give up title chase after playing all our 19 games in the second round of the league but for now, people should not be discouraged that we have lost the battle for this season’s championship marathon,” he stated.
However, Bumbuli also disclosed that they have heard pleas from their supporters to focus much on the ASFC silverware, saying they are ready to embarrass any team they will be paired with in the last eight phase of the competition.
For Alliance FC, they will be targeting to come back to winning formula after being held to a 1-1 draw against Singida United in their past league match.
Prior to that, they hammered Mwadui FC 4-1 after coming from a 1-0 defeat from Biashara United as such, winning their remaining games will be a guarantee for them as far as remaining in the top flight league next season is concerned.
Even though the Mwanza based side may have a rocky ride in the progressing league. They still have advantage to excel in ASFC as they advanced to the quarterfinals after dumping out JKT Tanzania 5-3 in post-match penalties as the normal period of play elapsed 1-1.
