Author: BENJAMIN BEN
AfricaPress-Tanzania: AZAM FC midfielder Frank Domayo has apologised to Simba’s Shomari Kapombe for a crude tackle which led the defender to be stretched out to the dressing room.
Domayo, who captained his team in their 2-0 loss to Simba in the quarterfinal match of Azam Sports Federation Cup (ASFC) at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday, said he never intended to do that.
“It was not my intention to foul him that is why immediately after the incident, I wanted to shake his hand to symbolise fair play but instead, he was furious and wanted to beat me”.
“I really apologise to him for that and later, I will call him personally to apologise. Such things happen in football due to high tension among players especially considering the fact that we lost the match,” he said.
He then conceded that their game plan failed to work effectively against Simba who were on fire as such, they just need to work hard to finish second on the top flight league table.
The outcome saw Simba rekindling their hopes of winning two titles this season and most importantly, booked a semi-finals slot against traditional rivals Young Africans whose fever has already began to boil up in the streets.
A towering header by skipper John Bocco and superb strike from Clatous Chama in each half were enough to navigate them into the next phase of the contest.
However, in his reaction, Simba Head Coach Sven Vandenbroeck said there is a possibility for Kapombe to miss the rest of the season due to the status of his injury.
“It was a bad tackle on him (Kapombe) and I have to clearly look at it once again on the Television. But for now, it is early to evaluate the scope of his injury but what I have been told is that we might miss him throughout this season.
“I think the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) should analyse the incident and take appropriate action on the player behind the incident,” Vandenbroeck said.
About the game, Vandenbroeck said he saw his team playing for one target to win a quality he said he would like to see in all their upcoming fixtures.
“We defended and attacked as one team and I can say it was my biggest win. The positive thing though is that we have made it into the next stage of the competition”.
“We dominated the whole 90 minutes creating many scoring chances mainly in the second half and not giving our opponents opportunities to score,” he said.
He added that he appreciated total commitment from his players saying he want them to keep the same spirit among themselves ahead of incoming matches.
However, the talking point is about the forthcoming derby among the two oldest clubs in the country (Yanga and Simba) as the former seize it as the only chance to play in CAF Confederation Cup while the latter want to cement their superiority by winning two cups this season.
