Oliveira positive on Simba, Al Ahly results

SIMBA coach, Roberto Oliveira has congratulated his players for their good away performance against Al Ahly in the second leg match of the African Football League (AFL) at Cairo International Stadium in Egypt on Tuesday.

Despite securing a 1-1 draw, the Reds farewelled the tournament on away goal rule after a 3-3 aggregate as they conceded two goals in the first leg home match, that elapsed 2-2 at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

However, after the tense duel, Oliveira briefly remarked: “Listen, we played well, we scored before our opponents and congratulation to my players because it is not easy to play out of the country.

“The most important thing is that football is played for 90 minutes, but congratulations to my opponents because they have qualified.”

On his part, Simba’s Media and Communication Manager, Ahmed Ally, pointed out that although their target to eliminate Al Ahly in AFL did not come true, they are proud with the performance of the team in both legs.

“We have failed to bundle out Al Ahly but that does not discourage us, because we have shown our abilities to the entire world that we are too a strong side, mind you, we were playing against the number one team in Africa,” he said.

He continued: “We are the only team to exit the tournament without losing any match; in the first leg duel, we stamped a 2-2 draw and here (Egypt) we have secured a 1-1 draw.

“This means on the pitch, we were at the same level with Al Ahly because if they were good than us, they could have defeated us in either of the two matches played, but we have shown our potential.

“I do not think that there is any Egyptian who is ever going to undervalue Simba, basing on the performance showcased in both legs of the tournament,” Ally said.

He then said now that the AFL is over to them, their focus is to do well in the Premier League by lifting this season’s trophy as well as doing well in the CAF Champions League (CAF CL).

Following the qualification, Al Ahly will face Mamelodi Sundowns in the AFL semi-finals as the latter ousted Petro de Luanda courtesy of a 2-0 aggregate success with both goals scored in the first leg match played in Angola.

The second leg clash in South Africa on Tuesday elapsed goalless, enough for the South African side to make it to the last four phase of the competition.

Football fraternity are scratching heads, figuring out which team is going to win the AFL for the first time, whose trophy was unveiled in Dar es Salaam by CAF President, Patrice Motsepe, before the inaugural match between Simba and Al Ahly.