SIMBA Head Coach Roberto Oliviera heaped praises on his charges for producing a 3-2 win, while Mbeya City trainer Mubilu Abdallah blamed poor officiating for the loss.
The two teams met at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday night with the Msimbazi Street Reds awarding their new coach a befitting reception in his debut to the top flight game.
Saido Ntibazonkiza was again at the epicentre of the action scoring a brace totaling five goals in two matches at Simba which is a flying start for the Burundian import.
Substitute Pape Sakho who replaced Clatous Chama midway into the first half, contributed a superb third goal which completely sealed the business despite the visitors pulling back two goals from Richardson Ng’ondya and Juma Shemvumi.
Chama’s withdrawal was negatively perceived by some Simba fans who simply questioned why the coach rested the current league’s top assist player who orchestrated the opening goal on the day.
With the victory, Simba have now gathered 47 points from a 20-game onslaught and they still cling to the second slot on the table, trailing the current leaders Young Africans with 6 points.
“For me, a win is very important and players worked hard to earn it, we are all happy with that and looking ahead to our next match,” said the Brazilian trainer who has been blessed to take the team further.
He added that his main objective is to create a competitive team capable of doing well in the domestic league and CAF Champions League’s group stage.
On his part, Coach Abdallah Mubiru of Mbeya City blamed poor refereeing saying most of the negative decisions were going to his side but thanked his men for the spirited fight.
“Most negative decisions were against my team but that is over, we must now focus on the coming fixtures,” said Mubiru whose team finished with ten men on the ground as Samson Madeleke was red-carded.
Up next, Mbeya City host Mtibwa Sugar at Sokoine Stadium in Mbeya this Sunday, an opportunity to recover from two successive stunning defeats.
On the same day, Simba will be at Jamhuri Stadium in Dodoma playing against Dodoma Jiji in a match set to unfold under floodlights from 7:00 pm and both sides are keen to grab maximum points.