Simba breathe fire on Yanga…Samia lauds giants for uniting Tanzanians
SIMBA revived their title chase hope after reducing a huge gap to five points with an emphatic 2-0 victory over their traditional rivals Young Africans at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in the city on Sunday.
It was a match that attracted huge attention including that of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who lauded Simba for the victory.
The Head of State also lauded both Simba and Yanga for uniquely bringing together millions of Tanzanians from every corner of the country to celebrate football. She made these remarks through her Instagram and twitter handles shortly after the duo match in Dar es Salaam, yesterday.
“Congratulations Simba, for your victory against Yanga in the Mainland Premier League match. Your traditional rivalry in the field was an entertainment that uniquely brings millions of Tanzanians together,” it read it part.
Prior to yesterday’s encounter, Yanga were superior to Simba with an eight-point lead, hence the victory has inspired Simba to fight and win the remaining games while prying Yanga to lose other games.
Simba have reaped 63 points after the win while Yanga remain at the top with 68 points.
It was a festive day for Simba as brightly coloured the Dar es Salaam derby with early first-half goals lodged by Henock Inonga in the 2nd minute and Kibu Dennis blockbuster in the 32nd minute.
Henock Inonga stunned Yanga with an early opener with a bullet header just two minutes after a start in, completing a well-sculptured set piece from Shomari Kapombe.
Simba doubled the lead via Kibu Dennis’s bullet strike in the 32nd minute that he struck out of the box and past Young Africans goalkeeper Djigui Diarra, who failed to save the danger despite stretching his arms wide.
Despite early lodging goals in the first-45 minutes of the encounter, Jean Baleke made two dangerous attempts in the 29th minute, but both hit the woodwork and in the 40th minute when he was set through by Clatous Chama and chopped the ball above custodian Diarra, but it flew off target.
On the other hand, Yanga made several attempts that would have restored them in the game through Fiston Mayele, who made three attempts with two on target in the 28th and 34th minutes.
Besides Mayele’s attempts to fetch goals in the first half, Djuma Shabani also made an attempt in the 24th minute through a freekick, but Simba’s goalkeeper newly-introduced keeper Ally Salim stood firm and saved his side.
The second saw Yanga coming strongly with an increased fighting spirit and introduced Stephanie Aziz Ki, Mudathir Yahya and Bernard Morrison.
They brought in a lot of energy, with Aziz Ki making two attempts in the 49th and 63rd minutes, but neither of his shots bore fruits.
Simba’s Ally Salim did darling saves in the 80th and 85th minutes from Tuisila Kisinda, Morrison and Aziz Ki.
Meanwhile, reports Benjamin Ben that prior to the encounter, the jam-packed Benjamin Mkapa stadium brought excitement to a warmly awaited encounter between the two giants.
Excitedly an aerial photograph displayed the stadium full-house packed with red-white and yellow-green shirts; each of the spectacles who witnessed the most celebrated game in the top flight league chanted for its side to encourage them to deliver an entertaining match.
Although it was a rainy day, it did not stop football lovers from jam-packing the stadium.
Indeed, there is never the best time for these two sides to meet as whenever they go head to head, new records are drafted which paint everlasting memories to people and here is where the beauty of the derby settles.
The city was soaked in water following successive rains which have been pounding heavily but that was not an excuse for supporters of the two giant teams to fail to make it to the 60,000 capacity arena and back up their club.
The atmosphere was conducive for a game of this nature coupled with a cool weather though the sky showed that any moment, it could rain.
Wherever there is big congregation of people, the desire of needing various products is high and in this scenario, it was a good day at office for those who do small businesses.
With the rainy weather that engulfed the city, those who were selling roasted maize surely went home with full pockets as they excelled to attract more customers.
