FOOTBALL pundits have cautioned Simba and Young Africans to forget about the recorded victories in first leg CAF Interclub Games and fully focus on reverse fresh fixtures.
Former Yanga Striker Mohamed Hussein, whose 26-Premier League goals record has not been shattered, striker Fiston Mayele, coaches Nasreddine Nabi and Roberto Oliveira and analyst Ramadhan Mbwaduke echoed their voices to caution the two Tanzanian envoys.
The country’s envoys engage in make or break encounters which define their destiny in the unfolding CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup hence a busy schedule for them.
Simba take on Wydad Casablanca at Stade Mohammed V venue in Morocco on Friday in a return match of the Champions League set to be explosive and competitive.
On the other hand, Yanga who host Rivers United of Nigeria in a return leg match at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam this Sunday are engaged in the CAF Confederation Cup duel.
Interestingly, Nasreddine Nabi’s men are the only side which stamped a 2-0 away win over Rivers United, but coach Nabi and his key striker Fiston Mayele told Yanga fans not to celebrate as the job is far from over.
Mayele who netted a brace against Rivers United didn’t celebrate after the end of game saying they are not yet qualified for semis.
The good thing is that both representatives are heading to the next matches with tangible results in hand after registering success in their respective first leg clashes.
In his comment, the former Yanga striker, Mohamed Hussein ‘Mmachinga’ reiterated that both teams have equal chances to cruise to the semis if they hold on to the wins they stamped in their previous matches.
“They played well in their first leg games no wonder succeeded to claim vital wins but that should not give them too much confidence in the next encounters because it will be a different fixture to them,” he said.
He continued: “Both of them should be aware that football is over after 90 minutes of play as such, the return legs are fresh fixtures and have nothing to do with the previously sourced outcomes.”
Also echoed their voices are the former Yanga defender Bakari Malima who cautioned his former team to be watchful in their upcoming home encounter insisting that home matches are always difficult.
“According to my experience, when you are playing at home in big games, the fixture becomes tough as such, Yanga should not be satisfied with what they accumulated in Nigeria,” he said.
Moreover, Malima encouraged Simba players to work hard in training and be keen to understand in practice what their coaches instruct them.
“In football, you need to adhere to what your coaches are saying during training sessions because tacticians are the ones who study opponent teams,” he said.
On his part, a football analyst Ramadhan Mbwaduke urged Simba players to have total commitment when facing Wydad Casablanca insisting that they (Simba) have potential to stun the defending champions twice in a row.
“They need to double their work rate and have a total commitment with winning mentality just like the way they approached the first match in the city.