Anxiety as Simba, Yanga face off
What you need to know:
Four players will likely have a big say on the outcome of arguably the biggest derby in East and Central Africa. The match kicks off at 5pm.
Dar es Salaam. A mammoth crowd is expected at the National Stadium today when the country’s football heavyweights Simba and Young Africans face off in the Community Shield clash.
Four players will likely have a big say on the outcome of arguably the biggest derby in East and Central Africa. The match kicks off at 5pm.
The players are Ugandan striker Emmanuel Okwi and Shiza Kichuya, who feature for Simba, and Zimbabwean Donald Ngoma and Burundian Amis Tambwe of Yanga.
Midfield maestro Haruna Niyonzima, who joined Simba a few weeks ago from Yanga, is another player the Jangwani Street boys must mark tightly if they are to avoid defeat.
Both Simba and Yanga had camped in Zanzibar ahead of what will be a curtain-raiser of the 2017/18 Mainland Premier League.
Matches between Yanga and Simba are usually a matter of wits, and today’s clash is expected to follow that tradition.
It’s the type of match where some fans must cry on their way home. Others will make merry deep into the night.
Simba coach Joseph Omog has instilled a new culture in the Msimbazi Reds. There is massive self-belief in the boys, and they now look focused.
The 4-4-2 formation has been working well for the Cameroonian tactician, at times switching to 4-3-3 through the game.
On a good day, it is a formation that works perfectly. The Msimbazi Street team’s backline has been impressive, and quite solid.
Okwi and Laudit Mavugo are expected to lead the attack while their midfield will likely be built around Niyonzima and Kichuya. In Omog’s own words, that midfield can sting and score as much as his strikers do.
Yanga, under the tutelage of Zambian coach George Lwandamina, have been regularly using the 4-4-2 formation. And it usually gives the desired results.
Ibrahim Ajib, Ngoma and Tambwe are among players Yanga bank on for goals.
The derby has no impact on the title race, but the psychological impact is massive.
“It’s a derby and we are well prepared. It’s tough match but we hope that with the proper preparations we have had and God willing, we should win,” Lwandamina said.
