DEFENDING champions Young Africans recaptured the Mainland Premier League top spot, following a 1-0 victory over Mtibwa Sugar at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
Winger Simon Msuva scored the lone goal of the match in the opening minutes of the second half, which helped Yanga leapfrog their archrivals Simba to the drivers’ seat on 59 points from 24 matches.
Yanga are two points above Simba, who have played the same number of matches. However, Yanga’s lead could last for only 24 hours because Simba will also be in action today against Toto Africans at the same venue.
A win for Simba will see them garnering 60 points. Coach Hans Van der Pluijm started with three central defenders - Kevin Yondan, Vincent Bossou and skipper Nadir Haroub, while deploying Zimbabwean striker, Donald Ngoma, as a lone striker upfront.
As expected, Yanga came out with all guns blazing against Mtibwa Sugar, with a mission to grab crucial three points, which could help the former bolster their chances to lay hands on silverware. And now, it is realistic that Yanga are heading towards retaining the trophy.
Yanga started the match strongly, dominating the game especially in the first half. The Jangwani Street team created several scoring chances but striking force led by Ngoma, with Deus Kaseke and Msuva operating from the flanks failed to turn the chances into goals.
Haruna Niyonzima forced a smart save from Mtibwa goalkeeper, Said Mohamed midways in the first half.
After seeing his team failing to make the most out of the chances they created, Pluijm introduced striker, Malimi Busungu for Yondan in the second half and immediately after the restart, Msuva found the back of the net. Msuva drilled a shot past keeper Said Mohamed, finishing off from Haruna Niyonzima’s set piece.
Later, Yanga brought in their leading goal scorer, Amissi Tambwe, for Kaseke but the Burundian had a little impact into the game and failed to add a goal into his account in an intensive race for the golden boot. Tambwe has scored 18 goals so far, one behind Simba’s Hamis Kiiza.
Mtibwa Sugar tried to fight back for an equaliser but their efforts were futile as their striking force lacked ideas whenever they entered into the final third. Yanga’s goalkeeper Deogratius Munishi was hardly tested compared to his counterpart.
Experienced midfielder Henry Joseph came in for Ibrahim Rajab, who was forced out of the game after picking an injury and Vincent Barnabas came in for Shiza Kichuya but the changes did not help the Morogoro club to get an equaliser.
In another match held at the Mkwakwani Stadium in Tanga, relegation haunted Coastal Union recorded a 1-0 victory over JKT Ruvu, with the winner’s goal’s coming in the 22nd minute through Godfrey Wambura.
Despite the victory, Coastal Union is still at the bottom of the league standing with 22 points from 27 league matches. Coastal Union, African Sports and Mgambo JKT both sides from Tanga region are buried in the relegation zone and they are in big trouble of managing to escape relegation this season.
The league continues today with Simba battling stubborn Toto Africans, who have always been a hard nut to crack whenever they face the Msimbazi Reds.
A win over Toto will mean a lot to Simba, given that the latter are smarting from a painful 1-0 loss to Tanga’s Coastal Union in the Azam Federation Cup quarterfinal clash on Monday, thus, it is nothing but victory that will help Simba get over the disappointment of conceding a defeat that saw them out of the campaign for CAF Confederation Cup ticket.
At Nangwanda Sijaona Stadium in Mtwara, host Ndanda FC beat Kagera Sugar 2-0. Atupele Green scored a brace.
