Simba coach relishes clash with Al Ahly

Simba striker Meddie Kagere during a past match. He is among players the Msimbazi Reds bank on for goals in today’s match against Egypt Al Ahly. PHOTO | FILE

What you need to know:

  • A victory over eight-time champions Al Ahly of Egypt in tonight’s Group D match of Caf Champions League, will surely rekindle Simba’s hopes that were razed almost to the ground after a painful 5-0 defeat to DR Congo’s AS Vita Club in Kinshasa a fortnight ago

Dar es Salaam. Mainland soccer giants Simba have once before failed to reach the knock stages of Caf Champions League in 2003.

Having received a harsh lesson in their previous excursion, the Msimbazi Reds will be seeking to put their Group D campaign back on track when they face eight-time African champions Al Ahly tonight.

The Group D clash kicks off at 10pm at the Borg El Arab in Alexandria, Egypt.

Simba flew into Alexandria on Tuesday – five days to the match day – in order to acclimatize with the Alexandria weather, which is a bit colder than that of Dar es Salaam.

A victory over Al Ahly will surely rekindle Simba’s hopes that were razed almost to the ground after a painful 5-0 defeat to DR Congo’s AS Vita Club in Kinshasa a fortnight ago.

And their arrival in Alexandria early is an indication of how serious they are taking continental football business – something team coach Patrick Aussems talked about upon arrival.

“The reason we are here is simple. We come from Tanzania, which is very far from Egypt,” the Belgian coach said.

“So if we want to be efficient, we must come early to prepare for our match set for next Saturday (today),” he added.

On the other hand, Al Ahly will be hoping to move another step closer to the knockout stages when the Group D enters match day three.

Ahly top the four-team group with four points, one ahead of third-placed Simba. A win is vital to their quest towards yet another continental title.

They started their mini-league campaign with a 2-0 home win over AS Vita.

In their second Group D match, they fought back to score a late equaliser against Algeria’s JS Saoura in Algiers to raise their tally to four points and go top of the tough looking group.

Simba launched their comeback to the group stage after a 15-year absence with a 3-0 home win over JS Saoura, but succumbed to a shock 5-0 defeat at the hands of AS Vita two weeks ago.

On paper, they will start as underdogs against Al Ahly, who appear to have recovered from a series of poor results that followed their defeat to eventual winners Esperance of Tunisia in last season’s final.

However, the Red Devils – as Al Ahly are popularly known – will be without a number of key players who are reportedly still nursing injuries.

Reports from Egypt have it that they will miss at least nine players due to various injuries.

The players are team captain Hossam Ashour, Ahmed Fathy and Waleed Soliman. Defender Mohamed Naguib and strikers Marawan Mohsen and Walid Azaro are unavailable.

To add more salt, new recruits Ramadan Sobhi, Yasser Ibrahim and Hamdy Fathy are also absent because of the same reason.

Despite all these setbacks, Al Ahly Uruguayan coach Martin Lasarte has poured cold water on the issue at hand, but has blamed the congested calendar to the cause of injuries.

“I believe our physical work is going well. The problem is that we are playing a game every 72 hours and this is not logic and causes a high number of injuries,” he said.

“But the players are returning gradually to the team and we have to continue working”, the 57-year- old trainer added.

Being the first Uruguayan to coach Al Ahly, Lasarte’s clear mission is to return the continent’s Holy Grail to the Cairo-based club’s trophy cabinet.

Ahly, boasting of 19 different Caf titles, last won the elite Champions League in 2013.

They finished as losing finalists in the last two editions.

Good news for Lasarte is the return of the attacking duo of youngster Salah Mohsen and Nigerian-import Junior Ajayi.

They both took place in Ahly’s midweek 2-1 victory over Wadi Degla in the domestic league, with Amro El Sulaya and Tunisian Ali Maaloul both finding the net.

It will be the second time Simba and Al Ahly lock horns in a Caf competition.

Thirty-four years ago, they met in the 1985 African Cup Winners’ Cup second round.

Simba won 2-1 in Dar El Salam before Ahly guaranteed an aggregate win with a 2-0 victory in Cairo.

The Red Devils went to win the now defunct competition at this season.

Meanwhile, AS Vita will try to continue their winning ways when they entertain JS Saoura in Kinshasa, also torday.