Simba bridge gap with Yanga

Simba are just 5 points away from catching up with Premier League leaders Young Africans as the former recorded a 3-0 triumph over Mtibwa Sugar at Manungu Complex in Morogoro  on Saturday.

However, the 8-point gap could be re-established if Yanga manage to  beat Geita Gold at Azam Complex in Dar es Salaam today.

Striker Jean Baleke was a live wire for Mtibwa Sugar’s defence as he pumped in his first hat-trick on Tanzania soil to enable the Msimbazi Street Reds to 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 import 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 like 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 Oliviera’s side remains 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 Champion League group C match at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Saturday knowing prematurely that success guarantees them a space in the quarterfinals.

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

This is therefore the most important game for the Msimbazi Street Reds as it is a make-or-break duel and they are searching to stamp a second successive home victory after defeating Vipers 1-0 in their last game at the same venue.

Similarly, the Guineans see this encounter as their only remedy to cruise to the last-8 category as a defeat practically will end their belief of making it further.

They have 4 points from four assignments making the upcoming battle a judgmental one and here is where the tough part of the match centres with Simba looking to capitalise on the home-ground advantage.