Simba take on RS Berkane in crucial CAF Cup match

Dar es Salaam. Simba SC--Tanzania’s representatives in the CAF Confederation Cup--today play a crucial match against RS Berkane at the Stade Municipal de Berkane in Morocco.

The encounter is important to win for the Msimbazi Street giants in order to maintain their dominance in the group D table and pave the way for the knockout stage of the tournament.

Simba are now at the top of the table with four points from two matches - with an unbeaten run in the Group D matches. The Msimbazi Street side have, however, conceded only two goals in the tourney.

The team won 3-1 over Asec Mimosas and later drew 1-1 against Niger’s Union Sportive Gendarmerie Nationale (USGN) in Niamey few days ago. RS Berkane are placed in the third position with three points and the victory against Simba means the Moroccan side will go top if Asec Mimosa will not register victory over USGN. So, the RS Berkane-Simba match will be decisive ahead of the knockout stage despite the fact that it is too early to predict which of the two teams will qualify for the knockout stage of the tournament.

Despite the cold climate, Simba head coach Pablo Franco said his players are in good form to face RS Berkane’s challenge in the encounter scheduled to start at 10pm Tanzania time.

“We have taken all precautions ahead of the match and we will play with determination in order to record a good result. It is not going to an easy match as we face one of the tough teams in the competition,” said Pablo.

However, the Tanzania side will miss the services of their key players, Jonas Mkude who is nursing his injury, Taddeo Lwanga who is yet to regain his fitness and Mzamiru Yassin who did not travel with the team due to a family problem.

Also on the list is Zambian attacking midfielder Larry Bwalya who is also facing family problems.

Technically, Pablo will use Sadio Kanoute and Erasto Nyoni in the midfield position following the absence of the four players.

RS Berkane coach Florent Ibenge likely seeks to revenge against Simba following poor results in their previous three matches.

Ibenge managed to win only one match out of four they played against Simba when he was with As Vita Club of DR Congo.

The Congolese tactician won 5-0 on January 17, 2019 and since then, he has not won a single match. His side lost 2-1 at the Benjamin Mkapa on Match 14, 2019 and later lost 1-0 at his home venue on February 12, 2021 before being defeated 4-1 at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on April 3 last year. All the matches were of the African Champions League. The Moroccan side will depend on Tuisila Kisinda who played for Yanga last league season.