Author: BENJAMIN BEN
AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE artificial grass at Azam Complex in Dar es Salaam will be the epicentre of big match between Premier League leaders Azam against second placed Young Africans in a pick of the day fixture set today.
Both teams have accumulated 25 points from their eleven matches played only to be separated by netted goals with the former hitting 18 more goals than 13 goals pumped in by the latter.
The hosts go into the game on a back foot after losing their past match 1-0 to KMC at Uhuru Stadium in the city hence, they will have to be fully armed to avoid recording a second successive loss.
So far, Azam have lost two encounters, posted one draw and registered eight wins to make them the only team so far to have won more games than any other on the 18-team top flight league ladder.
On the other hand, Yanga head into the clash while cherishing unbeaten run in the contest making them the only side yet to swallow the bitter pills in the progressing marathon.
They are among eight teams on the log to have stamped more draws (4) with their latest results being a 1-1 draw against Namungo FC at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in the city.
The Jangwani Street based club narrowly escaped unhurt on the day from the jaws of the Lindi based side who missed a last minute penalty kick which could have put them in history books for becoming the first team to upset Yanga in 2020/21 league campaign.
Yanga are still winless from their three back to back games which saw them earning one point from every game they played. The stalemate began against Gwambina (0-0), Simba (1-1) and Namungo (1-1).
However, today’s match will totally be different and a good squad test for Azam’s coach Aristica Cioaba whose side was yet to play against the big two teams in the country (Simba and Yanga).
For the visitors, they will be exposed to another difficult puzzle to solve as far as the Mainland Premier League is known after their traditional derby encounter with Simba elapsed 1-1.
But, speaking prior to the match on Tuesday, Azam Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Abdulkarim Amin ‘Popat’ said they are fully prepared to welcome the oldest club of the country.
“We respect Yanga, they are a big team but we are also well prepared to pocket vital three points from the game. In football, anything can happen that is why I believe that a team which will play well cards will win the match,” he said.
Entry charges have been paraded as 30,000/- for VIP A while VIP B and C will go for 20,000/- and 10,000/- respectively.
