Jobe: I’ll prove doubters wrong

DAR ES SALAAM: SIMBA SC’s newly signed Gambian professional footballer, Pa Omar Jobe claims playing in Europe is easier compared to playing in Africa and insisted that he has something to prove as a striker in his new club.

The Gambian striker made the statement on Wednesday night after his debut competition game with Simba in the Azam Sports Federation Cup (ASFC) whereby he scored his first goal since joining the club through the January mini-transfer window.

“People have doubts about me about my size and other stuff but that is not important to me, I will prove them wrong because as a striker I have to score goals,” said the Gambian international who scored the fourth goal for Simba in a 4-0 win over Tabora’s Tembo FC in the   ASFC match held at the Azam Complex in Dar es Salaam.

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Jobe disclosed that before coming to Tanzania, he had heard a lot about Simba from various people including his fellow countrymen who talked about the club’s success in the continent and other issues.

“Simba is a big club in Africa, proving that when I moved to Simba a lot of people congratulated me,” unveiled Jobe.

In another development, Simba Communication Officer, Ahmed Ally said their new signings started to pay off after their amazing performance against Tembo FC.

“Our new signings have started to show off their abilities, example Ladack Chasambi has continued to show his good performance on the pitch.”

Simba’s January signing Salehe Karabaka said he believes this year his team will do wonders in each competition that they will participate in.

“I believe we will do a lot of great things this year, as a player I will keep working hard to show my quality on the pitch,” he explained.

On his side, Simba Assistant Head Coach Seleman Matola commended his team for the outstanding performance after edging 4-0 Nzega-based side Tembo FC to become the 15th Mainland Premier League side to make it through to the third round of the ASFC which comprises 32 teams.

The 15 topflight league teams that have made it into the third round apart from Simba are Dodoma Jiji, Ihefu FC, JKT Tanzania, Mashujaa FC, KMC, Kagera Sugar, Mtibwa Sugar, Coastal Union, Singida, Geita Gold, Young Africans, Azam FC, Tabora United and Namungo FC.

The Msimbazi street-based goals were scored in both halves of the game whereby Luis Miquissone opened the score sheet in the 10th minute. Simba doubled their lead in the 31st minute through Saido Ntibazonkiza.

In the second half, their January window transfer signings Saleh Karabaka and Pa Omar Jobe scored in the 80th and 82nd minute respectively to make the scoreboard read 4-0.

At a post-match briefing, Coach Matola said the knockout stages are always difficult but he is happy with the results as his side managed to progress through into the third round.

“Congratulations to the players, they did an amazing job and managed to get the result and qualify for the next step of ASFC,” he explained.

On his part, Tembo FC Head Coach Ramadhan Kiloge praised his side despite losing the match saying they battled it bravely and tried to contain Simba pressure but things did not go their way.

“We planned to play good football, we lost the game but we tried at least to stand strong against our opponents and we managed to show our class,” he said.

Coach Kiloge also acknowledged Simba as one of the best teams in the country with high-class and experienced players compared to his side.

“Simba is one of the best teams in Tanzania, they are far away from us in terms of experience and class,” he explained.

Tembo FC player Saadi Khalfan said as a team they played well but Simba was way better than them as he believes their January signings will help them to keep their team in a good place.