Azam-Yanga derby lights up Christmas night

CHRISTMAS Day is set to be lit up with a highly explosive Premier League ‘Dar es Salaam Derby’ as Azam host Young Africans at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in the city tonight.

The two teams meet in the 18th round fixture of the ongoing season with a 7-point gap separating them as Yanga have accumulated 44 points from 17 matches while Azam cherish 37 points from the same number of games.

In their first round duel at the same venue, both sides claimed one point in an entertaining match which ended in a 2-2 draw, fans are anxious to see who wins today.

“We are aware that it is going to be a tense match accompanied with a lot of pressure but our players know what to do to remain focused on  the game,” said Yanga Assistant Coach Cedric Kaze in a pre-match briefing in the city on Saturday.

Adding, he said: “I believe that we have a good quality squad capable of giving us positive results and this is what we are all looking for. Getting good results will enable us to stretch further than the  existing 7-point gap against them.”

Furthermore, Kaze declared that his squad is fit for the match even though they know that facing Azam has never been easy regardless where they are playing.

“In our previous game against them, we conceded two set-piece goals and this has been taken into consideration so that we do not repeat the same mistakes in tomorrow’s (today) match,” he said.

On his part, Yanga centre-back Dickson Job said they are well prepared for the match in order to claim a win and continue dominating the Premier League campaign.

“For us, we have been told what to do throughout the game and every player is looking forward to getting playing time and supporting the team in collecting vital points,” he said.

His counterpart for Azam Lusajo Mwaikenda reiterated that they are also fully prepared to battle for the victory and they are aware of what they are required to do to derail the reigning champions.

“As a club, we always thrive to win matches and this is the spirit we possess. Yanga are a big side with competitive players but that does not scare us to play our game and probably win it,” he said.

Mwaikenda also elaborated that their training sessions have been made to play against Yanga and not to concentrate on individual players like Fiston Mayele.

Azam have opted to stage the thrilling match at the 60,000 capacity venue and not at their Azam Complex as it was earlier scheduled.

In another development Mbeya’s Ihefu thrashed Morogoro’s Mtibwa Sugar 3-1 in NBC Premier league match at Highland Estate Stadium in Mbalali on Saturday.