Key takeaways from derby pitting rivals Yanga, Simba

Dar es Salaam. Football fans in the country witnessed the classic traditional rivals’ match between Young Africans (Yanga) and Simba at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on April 20, as part of the ongoing Mainland Tanzania Premier League encounter.

Here are five things we learned from the match, apart from the above records:

Aziz Ki dominates scoring against Simba

Aziz Ki has scored three goals against Simba since joining Yanga on July 14, 2022.

Apart from scoring the first goal through a penalty on Saturday, the Burkinabe attacking midfielder also scored an equalising goal against Simba in October 2022, in a match that ended 1-1.

 In the 5-1 Yanga’s win against the Msimbazi Street giants on November 5, 2023, Aziz Ki also scored one goal.

Simba's Kibu Dennis, who has scored a total of two goals against Yanga, did not score on Saturday, despite being a threat to Yanga after scoring in the previous two Mainland Tanzania Premier League traditional rivals matches consecutively.

Dennis scored against Yanga on April 16, 2023, in a match that saw Simba win 2-0, and he scored, again, the only consolation goal against Yanga in their 5-1 loss on November 5, 2023.

Benchikha loses second match against Yanga

The match on Saturday was the third time Simba's head coach, Adelhak Benchikha, guided the technical bench against Yanga.

Previously, he coached USM Alger of Algeria in the CAF Confederation Cup match, winning 2-1 at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on May 28, 2023, and later experiencing a loss against the Jangwani Street giants on June 3, 2023, at Stade Du 5 Julliet in Algiers.

Yanga widen the gap against Azam FC and Simba

The match widened Yanga's point gap after collecting 58 points from 22 matches played.

This puts them seven points ahead of the second-placed team, Azam FC, who have 51 points from 23 matches, and 12 points ahead of Simba, currently placed third with 46 points.

Yanga now need at least six match wins out of the remaining eight to secure the Mainland Tanzania title for the third time in a row.

Arithmetically, Simba can reach 73 points if they win all nine remaining matches, and Azam FC can collect 72 points if they win all remaining matches.

However, the two teams will play against each other, potentially affecting Yanga's points if the match ends in a draw or if one team loses and the other wins.

Yanga maintain their prowess against Simba

The 2-1 victory marked Yanga’s 40th win against Simba's 32, while 40 matches ended in draws.

This match was the 112th encounter since 1965. Records also indicate that Yanga has scored 120 goals against Simba's 105 in their head-to-head encounters. The Jangwani Street lads have accumulated 160 points against Simba's 136.

Ivorians find the scoresheet

Joseph Guédé Gnadou, formerly of Turkish first division side Tuzlaspor, joined Yanga as a free agent. The Ivorian scored against Simba in the 37th minute after beating Simba's goalkeeper Ayoub Lakred. Guédé joined the Jangwani Street side during the mini-window registration period and faced numerous challenges after failing to score in the early Mainland Tanzania league matches.

His first goal was against Championship side Polisi Tanzania in the CRDB Federation Cup on January 20, 2024, at the Azam Complex, where he scored two goals.

He then scored in the group stage of the CAF Champions League match against CR Belouizdad, securing Yanga's qualification into the knockout stage of the competition.

Simba's Fred Koublan, another Ivorian, who joined Simba from Zambian side, Green Eagles, has scored two goals for Simba. He scored against Mashujaa FC in the CRDB Federation Cup and later against Yanga on Saturday.