| Kiiza double sinks Kenya’s Sofapaka | Send to a friend |
| Sunday, 15 January 2012 11:26 |
 By Majuto OmaryThe Citizen Reporter Dar es Salaam. Striker Khamis Kiiza struck twice to steer Young Africans to a 2-1 win over visiting Sofapaka of Kenya in an exciting friendly match at the National Stadium yesterday. Kiiza, Yanga’s regular goal-getter, scored a goal in each half to restore the Mainland champions’ pride after a poor show in the just concluded Mapinduzi Cup in Zanzibar. The hosts made a good start and shattered the visitors’ defence two minutes into the game when Davies Mwape’s effort went a few centimetres wide. They fluffed another chance five minutes later when Kiiza broke through, only to see his shot go wide. In the eighth minute, a shot by Omega Seme was saved by Sofapaka’s goalie Duncan Ochieng, who made another fine diving save to clear a close range shot by Jerry Tegete a few seconds later. Heritier Ndombere made a decent effort to break the deadlock for Sofapaka in the 11th minute but the ball bounced in front of the hosts’ goalkeeper Kado, who blocked it easily. In the 19th minute, Kado was forced to dive full length to clear a sizzling shot by James Situma as the visitors pressed for the match-opener. Ten minutes later, Mwape was brought down in the box by defender James Situma, and referee Kennedy Mapunda never hesitated to award Yanga a penalty. And Kiiza made no mistake with the resultant spot kick, sending goalkeeper Ochieng the wrong way for a 1-0 half time lead. Kiiza came into the picture again just after the hour mark, this time off a neat pass by second half substitute Athuman Idd. The game seemed destined to end 2-0 in favour of the hosts until in the 85th minute when Sofapaka pulled one back through Anthony Kimani whose shot gave goalie Kado no chance. For Yanga, yesterday’s match was part of their preparations for next month’s Africa Champions League match against Zamalek of Egypt. It also served as a warm-up for the second round of the Vodacom Premier League which starts on Wednesday. Line-ups: Yanga- Shaaban Kado, Shadrack Nsajigwa, Abuu Ubwa, Mohamed Mbegu, Nadir Haroub, Salum Telela, Nurdin Bakaru, Omega Seme/Athuman Idd, Jerry Tegete, Davies Mwape and Khamis Kiiza. Sofapaka- Duncan Ochieng, Hashim Mkhwan, Juma Abdallah, Kanamuri Severen, James Situma, Mieno Ochieng, Osbon Monday, Nyaga Joseph, Heritier Ndombere, Robert Binja and John Baraza. Meanwhile, after a brief vacation, Simba swing back into action today for an international friendly against Kenyan giants Tusker FC at the National Stadium. The Msimbazi Reds, smarting after a dismal show in this year’s Mapinduzi Cup, are fine-tuning for the second round of the Vodacom Premier League and Confederation Cup. Simba information officer, Ezekiel Kamwaga said yesterday that the match will help them to gauge their team ahead of the top flight league and continental assignments. “This is a great opportunity for us to gauge our team and we are looking forward to turning tables on Tusker,” he said. Simba will face Rwanda’s SC Kiyovu in the Confederation Cup preliminary round next month in Kigali. A return leg will take place at the National Stadium two weeks later. The Kenya champions have been in the country since Friday, undergoing light training in the city for what promises to be an exciting showdown. Simba are expected to return home today from Zanzibar where they lost 2-0 to Azam in the Mapinduzi Cup semi finals early this week. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
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