Simba face Al Hilal of Sudan in special tournament
What you need to know:
- The game is part of Simba’s build-ups for the African Champions League groups stage. Apart from Al Hilal, the tournament also features one of the African giants, TP Mazembe, who will play against Al Hilal on Friday at the same venue.
Dar es Salaam. Simba Sports Club new head coach Didier Gomez today faces the first test of his job when his club play against Al Hilal of Sudan in a special tournament at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.
The match is scheduled to start from 5pm as Gomez, who is former El Mereikh head coach, will be leading the team’s technical bench for the first time since he signed a two-year contract with the club.
The game is part of Simba’s build-ups for the African Champions League groups stage. Apart from Al Hilal, the tournament also features one of the African giants, TP Mazembe, who will play against Al Hilal on Friday at the same venue.
The game will enable Gomez, who has trained with Simba players for only two days, to know his players’ strength, techniques and tactics before the groups stage competition starts.
The Msimbazi Street side have been grouped with the defending champions, Al Ahly of Egypt, AS Vita of DR Congo and Al Mareikh of Sudan.
Simba will launch their campaign in the away match against As Vita of DR Congo in Kinshasa and later face Al Ahly at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on February 23 and 24. They will play another match between March 5 and 6 in Khartoum against Al Mareikh before their return leg match in Dar es Salaam on March 16 at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium. Simba will play the return leg match against As Vita between April 2 and 3 and later travel to Cairo, Egypt, to face Al Ahly between April 9 and 10. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semifinals of the competition.
Gomez said they are looking for the good performance in the match despite the fact that Al Hilal are a strong team. “I know the team, I watched their various matches while in Sudan and they are a strong side. We have to be very tactical against them,My players are in top form and I believe they will deliver the best ,” he said.
Simba will also use the encounter to introduce their new players. The team yesterday recruited Zimbabwean defender Peter Muduhwa from Highlanders. The team’s other newly signed players are Junior Lokasa from Nigeria and Perfect Chikwende from FC Platinum.
