Baleke nets first hat-trick as Simba beat Mtibwa 3-0

Simba are just 5-point away from catching up Premier League leaders Young Africans after beating Mtibwa Sugar 3-0 at Manungu Complex Stadium in Morogoro on Saturday afternoon.

However, the initial 8-point gap could be re-established if Yanga manage to blew away Geita Gold at Azam Complex in Dar es Salaam on Sunday.

Striker Jean Baleke has netted a hat-trick to necessitate the Reds claim maximum points from a difficult away venue.

He made the breakthrough in the 3rd minute of the match before doing the same four minutes later when he headed in from a cross chipped in by Saidi Ntibazonkiza.

As this was not enough, the DR Congo imported striker sealed a triple in the 33rd minute to make it hard for the hosting side to make the most of it.

However, in the second half, Mtibwa Sugar looked an improved team as they were able to cause trouble to the visitors but most of their attempts were easily diffused by a win-hungry Simba squad.

With the outcome, Roberto Oliveira’s side remain second on the table with 57 points from 24 matches while Mtibwa Sugar, out of 25 games, they have bagged 29 points.

Coming up, Simba take on Horoya in a decisive CAF Champions League group C match at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Saturday knowing prematurely that a success guarantees them space in the quarterfinals.

A win by the hosting side takes them to 9 points from five matches meaning that they will have a big advantage to sail through to the quarterfinals of the competition.