Simba SC face uphill task in CAF

DAR ES SALAAM: SIMBA will have an uphill task in their CAF Champions League quarter-final second leg following a 1-0 defeat to Al Ahly at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

Simba will meet Al Ahly for the return leg on April 5th at Cairo International Stadium in Egypt.

Ahmed Koka’s fourth minute-and the only goal was enough to seal Al Ahly’s win.

Despite how hard Simba fought, they were unable to convert their chances into goals yesterday.

Despite Simba’s hard work and efforts, they failed to open Al Ahly’s defence and even when they changed tactics to fire powerful strikes from outside the box, they ended up being cleared off or went wide.

Sadio Kanoute came close to scoring with a header just one minute after kick-off, connecting  Clatous Chama’s set-piece that unfortunately went high.

In the blink of an eye, thousands of Simba’s fans were left in shock after conceding an early goal.

Al Ahly banked a goal in the fourth minute of the game. A defensive blunder by Simba’s defender, Henock Inonga who failed to clear Mohamed Ahmed’s set piece from the right flank, allowed Ahmed Koka to score.

Despite the early setback, Simba erupted like a volcano and put pressure on their rivals, Al Ahly.

In the 21st minute, Simba attempted to level the score through Clatous Chama’s manoeuvres and break through the defence line, but Al Ahly’s defence was solid enough to stop Chama.

His challenge gave Simba a cornering advantage, which they took advantage of through Che Fondoh Malone’s scorpion kick, but Al Ahly’s goalkeeper, Mustafa Shoubir, cleared the challenge.

Simba kept pushing their opponents to find an equaliser before the first-half breakthrough, with attempts from Clatous Chama in the 37th, Che Fondoh Malone in the 38th minute, Kanoute in the 40th and Saido Ntibazonkiza in the 44th minute.

However, none of those attempts gave fruit to Simba.

The most interesting aspect of Simba’s playing style was that when they found it difficult to open Al Ahly’s defence line, they opted to create more space to shoot out of the penalty box.

The second half commenced in style with Simba putting pressure on the Egyptian Giants after Babacar Sarr fired two shots in the 25th and 56th minute, but neither of the attempts gave Simba an advantage.

Luís Miquissone had a chance to make a difference after firing a bullet, but the Al Ahly goalkeeper stood firm to clear.

The match ended in favour of Al Ahly following an early goal.

In another development, CAF announced the dates for the finals of the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup 2023/24 seasons.

The finals will be played on a home-and-away basis in May 2024.

The first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup will be played on Sunday, 12 May 2024. The second leg of the CAF Confederation Cup will be played the following weekend, Sunday, 19 May 2024.

The CAF Champions League final first leg will be on Saturday, 18 May 2024. The second leg of the CAF Champions League final will be played on Saturday, 25 May 2024.