Yanga ascend to league summit

DAR ES SALAAM: YOUNG Africans SC moved to the top of the Tanzania Premier League with a commanding 4–1 win over KMC FC at the KMC Complex in Dar es Salaam on Sunday, reaffirming their status as the team to beat.

Maxi Nzengeli opened the scoring, Pacome Zouzoua restored the lead and substitute Andy Boyeli struck twice late on as the defending champions swept aside a KMC side that rarely looked capable of resistance. Yanga arrived already unbeaten in three matches and they played like a side comfortable at the summit.

They dominated possession, pressed aggressively and moved the ball with the swagger expected of reigning champions.

KMC, on the other hand, came into the fixture with one win and four defeats in five games and their record against Yanga offered little encouragement: Nine defeats and a draw in their previous ten meetings. The pattern was clear from kickoff. Within three minutes Yanga had forced three corners and missed narrowly when Pacome fired over.

Nzengeli, Pacome and Bakari Mwamyeto stretched the KMC back line as wave after wave of attacks poured forward. By contrast, KMC were pinned deep and goalkeeper Djigui Diarra was largely untested at the other end. The breakthrough arrived in the 36th minute, Nzengeli squeezing a low effort through traffic and beyond goalkeeper Hamis Yasin.

But KMC levelled six minutes later when Diarra spilled a freekick and Daruwesh Saliboko reacted quickest to turn in the rebound. If the equaliser rattled Yanga, it did not show.

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The champions resumed the second half in full control, forcing KMC into a defensive shell. Selestine Ekwa and Shehan Ibrahim added fresh energy and the pressure eventually told in the 74th minute: Israel Mwenda slipped a neat pass into space and Pacome finished clinically at the near post.

Boyeli, introduced after the break, then took over. He won a penalty in the 80th minute and dispatched it himself, sending Yasin the wrong way. Deep into stoppage time he added his second, lashing home from close range to seal the victory and restore Yanga to the league summit, one point clear of rivals Simba.

The result tightened an already fierce title race. Simba remain close behind with a perfect start from their first three matches, while Pamba Jiji are level with Simba on points but trail on goal difference. For Yanga, though, the message was emphatic: The champions are exactly where they expect to be, on top.