LEADERS Simba SC will be looking to be the first team in the Mainland Premier League this season to exceed 30 points as they take on KMC at Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam today.
The defending champions are already on the gas pedal, seeking to retain the title for third time in a row and they exactly know that a win this afternoon will see them reaching 31 points from 12 matches.
Coming fresh from their convincing 4-0 victory over Lipuli FC at the same venue on Christmas Day, Simba are ‘heavy’ favourite to humiliate their city’s colleagues basing on their recent performance in the league run.
Victory against Lipuli was a perfect welcome and Christmas gift to the team’s newly paraded Head Coach, Sven Vandenbroeck and his Assistant Coach Selemani Matola, who took over coaching responsibilities from the sacked former Head Coach Patrick Aussems and his right hand man Dennis Kitambi.
With two games under his guidance, the Belgian coach has witnessed his team scoring ten goals in two different competitions. It all started with a 6-0 demolition of Arusha FC in Azam Sports Federation Cup (ASFC), before hammering Lipuli 4-0 in a league clash.
In both matches, Simba displayed a classical performance even though, in his post-match interviews, the team’s coach Vandenbroeck insisted that he is yet to be impressed from his side’s general work rate.
KMC lost 2-1 to Polisi Tanzania at Ushirika Stadium in Moshi on Wednesday hence will be wide awake to avoid succumbing to another loss from the main title contender.
Prior to their Moshi mission, KMC managed to hold Young Africans to a scoreless draw at the Uhuru Stadium, on a day which saw them playing good football worth watching and before that, they went down 2-0 to Mbao FC at CCM Kirumba Stadium in Mwanza.
However, the going this season has been tough for the Kinondoni based club, no wonder they have just won two games from their 12 league fixtures to get nine points with seven defeats and three draws.
It is a contrast performance from them in accordance to the way they played last season under then Head Coach, Etienne Ndayiragije, who guided the team to finish on fourth slot and give them a chance to play in the CAF Confederation Cup for the first time in the club’s history.
The club hired Ugandan coach Jackson Mayanja as a right person to succeed Ndayiragije but could not even last for one year as he was fired for allegedly poor results from the team and until now, KMC have not named the new coach to take helm of the team.
