Author: BENJAMIN BEN
AfricaPress-Tanzania: SIMBA captain John Bocco believes that they will get back to winning ways soon, after being held to a frustrating 1-1 draw against resilient Mtibwa Sugar on Saturday.
At a packed Jamhuri Stadium in Morogoro, Simba were the first to open the goal account through industrious midfielder Mzamiru Yasin but the hosts came refreshed in the second half to equalise courtesy of Boban Zilintusa’s header off an inch perfect pass from Issa Rashid to enable both sides share a point.
However, speaking after the match, Bocco said the outcome was part of the game and that they will regain momentum to win their next matches.
“As you saw, it was a tough match, we played with the mentality to win but our opponents were also good and made the game difficult for us.
“We had chances to score but could not manage to turn them into goals which happen in football. The most important thing is for us to positively look for the upcoming matches,” said Bocco.
On his part, Mtibwa Sugar Head Coach Zuberi Katwila admitted that it was not an easy task to hold Simba but in the end, it was a good result for them.
“At first, the game was difficult for us but later, my players responded well in the second half hence equalising the goal.
“I’m impressed with the performance from the new players who have joined the team this season and I’m sure that as time goes on, the chemistry will work better,” he said.
Moreover, Katwila said one point was better than losing the match, saying in a league marathon, anything can happen.
“For us, we need to also look forward to other games coming ahead to thoroughly assess the general performance of our team,” the coach said.
For the defending champions, they will have two back to back home matches against Biashara United of Mara at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Sunday, before hosting Gwambina FC a week later.
Last season’s top goal scorer in the Mainland Premier League Meddie Kagere is yet to stamp his goal in the unfolding league despite being featured as a substitute in the two opening matches played by his club.
At one point, Simba coach Sven Vandenbroeck agreed that lately, his preferred striker is Bocco that is why the Rwandan striker is having minimal playing time.
On the other hand, Mtibwa Sugar will travel to Mbeya to face Ihefu FC at Sokoine Memorial Stadium on Friday before returning back to their Jamhuri Stadium base to host Young Africans.
