Africa-Press – Tanzania. SIMBA skipper John Bocco said teamwork was the main reason which made them to register a resounding 3-1 victory against Namungo over the weekend.
The Mainland Premier League defending champions had to come from behind to punish the hosts at a well-attended Majaliwa Stadium in Ruangwa, Lindi giving themselves a boost towards retaining the season’s top flight title.
Steve Nzigamasabo put Namungo ahead from a close range finish but second half goals from Chris Mugalu, and substitutes John Bocco, Bernard Morrison were what Simba needed to keep alive their hopes of retaining the top flight league silverware for the fourth time in a row.
Morrison’s spectacular 88th minute goal was the talking subject after the match as he fired from a long range close to the center circle to beat Namungo goalkeeper Jonathan Nahimana, who was slightly off his line.
The victory saw Simba opening a three-point lead at the summit after collecting 64 points from 26 matches. Yanga remain second on 61 points from 29 outings, while Azam are third on 60 points from 30 matches.
Biashara United are fourth on the ladder with 45 points after 30 encounters. This means, the Msimbazi Reds need to win at least four matches to be crowned champions for the 22nd time in the history of the club.
According to the fixture, Simba will travel to Mwanza to face Ruvu Shooting at CCM Kirumba Stadium on Thursday, before taking on Polisi Tanzania at the same venue on June 19th this year. “We are happy to get three important points from the difficult match.
It was a tense game and our opponents got the opening goal which made us come stronger in the second half to equalise and score two more goals to win the game. “Let me thank my teammates for making this possible.
Each one of us fought hard to get the victory and this is the outcome of teamwork. I thank God for uplifting me to help my team get good results where possible,” he said.
On his part, Namungo goalkeeper Jonathan Nahimana said they failed to respect their game plan in the second half, thereby giving Simba an opportunity to attack them.
“In the first half, we fully stuck to our game plan but things changed in the second stanza as we sat back hence attracting pressure from them.
“For now, we just have to focus on our upcoming matches to make sure that we win and stand a good chance of finishing the season in the top four,” said Nahimana.
The Lindi based club remains eighth on the ladder with 40 points after 29 matches which is not a safe zone for them.
Occupying the fifth place are KMC who have collected 41 points from 29 outings with five more assignments to make before they complete their current season.
Another interesting battle is seen at the bottom of the 18-team table where the fight to escape relegation.
