Simba’s Caf dream alive

Simba striker Meddie Kagere (right) celebrates a goal with teammates during the Caf Champions League match against Al Ahly of Egypt at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam yesterday. PHOTO| MICHAEL MATEMANGA

What you need to know:

  • Mainland giants Simba, who squeezed a 1-0 win against Egypt’s Al Ahly in the Caf Champions League clash yesterday, have six points from four games, one point behind the Egyptians

Dar es Salaam. Simba coach Patrick Aussems has showered praise on his players for their impressive performance against Egypt’s Al Ahly yesterday.

Simba beat Al Ahly 1-0 at the National Stadium to revive their hopes of booking a place in the knock-out stage of Caf Champions League.

“We gave everything we could to win the match. Our goal remains unchanged -- we want to progress beyond the group stage,” Aussems said.

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A 65th minute goal by striker Meddie Kagere is all the Msimbazi Reds needed to down the Egyptian giants in the Group D clash.

Kagere beat goalkeeper Elshenawy with a sizzling shot to send hundreds of Simba fans at the 60,000-seater venues into wild celebrations.

“We believe we have what it takes to be one of the two qualifiers for the quarter-finals from this group,” the Belgian tactician added confidently.

The victory means Simba now have six points from four matches, one point behind group leaders Al Ahly.

It was also a befitting revenge against the Egyptians, who thumped Aussems’ men 5-0 in the first leg in Alexandria earlier this month.

Algeria’s JS Saoura and AS Vita Club of DR Congo were expected to face off last night in another Group D match.

Simba will face JS Saoura in a return leg clash in Algeria before winding up their group stage campaign against As Vita Club at the National Stadium.

The Mzimbazi Street giants, needing a win to remain serious contenders for a ticket for the last eight, put up a spirited fight in yesterday’s match.

They could have won the match by more goals had it not been poor finishing.

Line-ups:

Simba: Aishi Manula, Zana Coulibaly, Asante Kwasi/Mohammed Hussein, Juuko Murshid, Pascal Wawa, James Kotei, Clatous Chama, Jonas Mkude, John Bocco, Meddy Kagere and Emmanuel Okwi.

Al Ahly: Mohamed Elshenawy, Karim Hassan, Yasser Ibrahim, Hamdy Fatah, Ayman Ashraf, Ramadan Ahmed, Hussein Elshanat, Amro Elsoulia, Ali Maaloul, Oliwafemi Ajayi and Mohammed Hany.

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