Africa-Press – Tanzania. SIMBA midfielder Thaddeo Lwanga has dedicated the Azam Sports Federation Cup (ASFC) silverware to the club’s Chairman of the Board Mohamed Dewji, saying he and his fellow players are grateful for his massive support.
The Ugandan import player drove his side to retain the ASFC title for the second time in a row after heading home the solitary goal to defeat their traditional rivals Young Africans 1-0 at Lake Tanganyika Stadium in Kigoma over the weekend.
The victory propelled Simba to end the season on an acceleration pedal after excelling to defend two major trophies they won last season which are the Premier League and ASFC.
“This silverware is for the boss because he supports us so much and we are grateful for all what he does. He is a good man and our father,” Lwanga, who was voted man of the match, said.
He added that after clinching the second trophy at Simba, he wants to continue winning more trophies because he is a winner while admitting that sourcing the goal was very difficult due to the nature of the pitch.
His skipper John Bocco said claiming a brace of titles will give them strong push to do much better in the upcoming season and he saluted his teammates for the good job well done. Bocco has lately become one of the successful and famous captains in the country’s football circles lifting one trophy after the other hence adding something meaningful to his playing career.
His counterpart for Yanga Bakari Mwamnyeto said they tried all their best to produce positive results from the tense finals but could not make the breakthrough.
“The red card which was flashed to our side affected us a lot because we played with one man short but we have not given up yet such that next season, we will try to win titles as well,” said him.
On her part, Simba Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Barbra Gonzalez narrated that as management, they have succeeded to accomplish targets they set in the elapsed season.
“Let me thank everyone; the technical bench, players and most importantly our investor because without him, we could not have reached this far,” said Gonzalez who in her first tenure as the CEO, she has seen the team clinching the top flight league, ASFC plus reaching in the quarterfinals of CAF Champions League.
Queried on what are their next season targets, she replied that they are still in the process to draft them and will be unveiled soon after pre-season. She also disclosed that if she had to choose which traditional derby game to win between the premier league one and the ASFC finals, she could have selected to win the latter.
In his remarks, a representative from one of Yanga’s main sponsors GSM, Hersi Said narrated that the loss is simply part of the game and that they will bounce back stronger.
“We will make several improvements in our team to make it competitive next season and I want to congratulate our players for fighting hard to their abilities throughout this difficult match,” said him.
