Africa-Press – Tanzania. SIMBA Head Coach Didier Gomes said he was a little bit disappointed with the 1-1 draw his side stamped in their match against Azam at Azam Complex in Dar es Salaam on Friday.
It was Simba striker Meddie Kagere who scored late in the second half of the game to make it 1-1 and share spoils at the end of 90 minutes.
Azam took the lead in the 43rd minute of the opening half courtesy of Idd Selemani as they amicably commanded the opening segment without giving breathing space to the champions.
Simba will now entertain Namungo tomorrow at the giant Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in the city where they expect to be awarded top flight league throne for the fourth time consecutively.
“We did a lot of defensive mistakes in the first half but at halftime, I told my players to read the game well and be the first in second balls…we did not lose that’s good.
“I am a little bit disappointed because we could have won the game regarding the way we played in the second half. The reaction I saw from players in the second half was important,” Gomes said at a post-match briefing.
He therefore lauded some of his players who were featured on the day saying they played well despite staying for a long period without playing.
“We have another match to finish the league on Sunday and I believe there will be big celebrations. I rested several players today (Thursday) prior to our final match of the season.
“Thereafter, we will have almost one week to prepare for the Azam Sports Federation Cup (ASFC) which is our last target and we must achieve it,” said Gomes.
On his part, Azam midfielder Bryson Raphael conceded that they always experience difficulties to defeat Simba such that it is the fourth year they have failed to produce positive results from Simba.
“We thought this could be our day to celebrate the victory of defeating Simba but in the last minutes, we lost concentration thereby giving them (Simba) a chance to equalise,” he said.
The outcome of this game did not change anything among the teams occupying top four places on the table and as it stands, Azam have been assured to represent the country in the CAF Confederation Cup next season.
They have 65 points after 33 matches and they enjoy a 15 points gap with the fourth placed Biashara United which will also fly high the national colours in the CAF Confederation Cup for the first time in their history.
