Early Cup exit riles Simba coach

SIMBA’S technical bench has expressed disappointment following their shocking 1-0 loss to Mlandenge in the Mapinduzi Cup match at Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar on Tuesday.

Speaking after the game the team’s coach Juma Mgunda who served as the head coach for the last time following the arrival of the Brazilian tactician was disappointed with his charges’ performance.

“We came here to compete and to defend our title, but we have lost to the determined Mlandege. We have to congratulate our opponents and accept the results. We still have one game in hand which even if we win we cannot advance further,” he disclosed.

Mgunda said they decided to make big changes of their squad so as to give the opportunity to the second fringe players to demonstrate their skills and convince the technical bench that they are also good players.

The loss to Mlandege and Simba have been dethroned their  Mapinduzi title as their last group game against  KVZ  will be just a  formality.

Even if they win, they won’t downsize Mlandege who remained at the top of group   C  after collecting   4  points as they drew 1-1 with KVZ.

And if the result is vice-versa group C’s race to the semifinals will be between Mlandege and KVZ whereas the latter needs to win by a bigger margin in their last game against Simba to progress.

On his part, Mlandege’s head coach Mohamedi Balesi said they approached the game with caution  as they respected their opponents and that paid  off and they managed to win the tough game.

“We came into the game with much respect to our opponents Simba as one of the biggest clubs in Tanzania and Africa and that made us approach the game with the right discipline,” he unveiled.

He said despite the victory they have to wait until the final  group game between  Simba and KVZ to see if they have a place in the semis.

Meanwhile, Mgunda has welcomed the newly appointed club head coach Brazilian Roberto Oliveira.

Oliveira, former Uganda’s Vipers coach was unveiled on Tuesday afternoon in Dar es Salaam as the Msimbazi Street Red’s new coach and on Tuesday night he witnessed his side losing to Mlandege.

As a caretaker, Mgunda steered Simba to CAF Champions League’s group stage with a hundred percent perfection.

Simba beat Malawi’s Big Bullets 4-0 in aggregate before eliminating Primera Agusto of Angola with 4-1 aggregate win.