AfricaPress-Tanzania: TANZANIA’S flag bearers Simba Sports Club has said that their Egyptian opponents, Al-Ahly will be handled with yet another defeat as it was the case in 2019 when the two sides met at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
In their head to head record, Simba in February 12, 2019 won 1-0 against the African giants, who have a record of winning CAF Champions League nine times in their career.
The home triumph for Simba came after two bronze medalists in FIFA Club World Cup whipping the Mainland champions 5-0 in February 2 last year in the same CAF Champions league competition.
“We have an obligation of bringing in football honours in the country by making sure that Al-Ahly are beaten again tomorrow,” said Simba’s information officer, Haji Manara.
“We will repeat the same feat that we did when we played them in Dar es Salaam and we are ready for that,” he said.
As Simba plan for a home victory, Al- Ahly’s head coach, Pitso Mosimane looks to be reflecting on last defeat as he was quoted as saying that things will this time be different.
He said that it is the fact that he remembers their last time’s fall out in Dar es Salaam but the team have worked on what resulted to their last time’s mistakes to make things work for them.
The two teams are currently undergoing intensive training in Dar es Salaam and Simba may use their lethal striker John Bocco, who missed Simba’s away match against AS Vita because of injuries.
Al Ahly are leading group A with 3 points in the group stage , followed by Simba who have the same number of points as As Vita and Al- Merreikh of Sudan are pointless.
Simba’s mission is to reach the semifinals of the competition and beating Al- Ahly will be one step closer to that dream.
As pressure mounts on a big match of the day, Simba on Friday formed a rallying call by coining ‘Total War in Dar’ as their slogan ahead of the key game.
“The last time we met here in Dar es Salaam we defeated Al Ahly 1-0 in 2019 and our slogan then was ‘Yes, we can’,” Manara told reporters on Friday.
“Before the last game [vs FC Platinum] we said ‘War in Dar’ a war that was fought in 90 minutes, it was a war of blood and sweat and we emerged victors.
“This time around the clarion call is ‘Total War in Dar’. Al Ahly are a big team but we are at a point of no return. We must fight them and we must win.”
The Msimbazi giants opened their group campaign with a vital 1-0 away win against AS Vita Club of the Democratic Republic of the Congo while the African champions cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win against Al Merrikh of Sudan.
The Egyptian giants, led by South African coach Pitso Mosimane, were yet to start their group stage fixtures as they were taking part in the Fifa Club World Cup held in Qatar, where they managed to clinch a bronze medal.
