SIMBA enhanced their race for the quarterfinal stage of CAF Champions League following their hard earned 1-0 win over Vipers at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
The race to quarters was enhanced by Raja Casablanca’s away 3-1 win over Horoya in Conakri, Guinea late yesterday.
Following the victory, Simba have fortified themselves at the second position with 6 points while, Horoya have settled at the third place with 4 points.
Vipers continue to crawl at the bottom of the table with a point after losing their third match yesterday .
Simba produced a spirited performance to claim a vital 1-0 win against Vipers in a tense group C match.
Clatous Chama netted the solitary goal at the stroke of the interval which was enough to hand them maximum points in front of their home supporters.
It was a balanced game worth a champions league clash with both halves being explosive and interesting to watch.
Simba made their first switch in the 60th minute when Pape Sakho was withdrawn for Peter Banda as coach Roberto Oliveira wanted to see more creativity in the final third.
Despite being down by 1-0, Vipers looked threat for the hosts on several occasions though most of their attempts were easily diffused.
Chama was a thorn in fresh for Vipers defence causing countless of troubles whenever given space towards the visitor’s goal area using well his brilliant skills.
Up next, Simba will host Guinea’s side Horoya in their last home match of the champions league campaign slated at Benjamin Mkapa venue on March 18th.
This is going to be a revenge mission for Simba after a painful 1-0 loss in their opening match of group C campaign in Conakry, Guinea which saw the country’s envoys begin the race with a shaky start.
A victory over Horoya will give the Msimbazi Street Reds enough energy to stamp away success against Raja Casablanca in Morocco in their last Champions League assignment.
As such; beating Horoya will be a big boost for Simba in their quest to qualify for the quarterfinal stage and, basing on good home record they have in international matches, the Msimbazi Street giants can perform wonders.
However, before facing Horoya, Simba will face Mtibwa Sugar in a Premier League match at Manungu Complex in Morogoro this Sunday.
As it stands in the league, Simba continue to sit on second place with 54 points after 23 matches. They have won 16 times, stamped 6 draws and conceded one loss,
Simba have scored 55 goals, which is the highest number in the ongoing season.