Kagere stars as Simba march on

Dar es Salaam. Simba striker Meddie Kagere struck twice as the Msimbazi Reds maintained their superb start to the Mainland Premier League season with a 2-0 win over Mbeya City yesterday.

Kagere, who was like a thorn in the flesh for Mbeya City defenders, broke the stalemate in the 12th minute with a diving header off a cross by Shiza Kichuya. The agile forward came into the picture again a few seconds to half time, this time beating Mbeya City goalkeeper with a superb header.

“We did well, created a lot of chances and we deserved to win,” said Simba coach Patrick Aussems after the match.

It was the second consecutive win for Simba, who launched their title defence campaign with a 1-0 win over Tanzania Prisons last Wednesday.

Simba are now at the top of the 20-team league with six points from two outings, but their head coach, Patrick Aussems, isn’t getting carried away by his team’s flawless start.

“It is important to start as well as possible. Now, though, the table is not important,” the Belgian tactician said yesterday.

Last Wednesday, Simba laboured to down hard-fighting Tanzania Prisons 1-0 in their first match of the 2018/19 Premier League season at the same venue.

Kagere’s goal in two minutes into the match was all Simba the Msimbazi Reds needed to silence Prisons.

Kagere, who joined Simba from Kenya’s Gor Mahia in a reportedly lucrative deal, has hit the ground running and was impressive for the Msimbazi Street giants during their pre-season matches.

Meanwhile, Young Africans leave for Kigali, Rwanda today for the Caf Confederation Cup match against Rayon Sports.

Rayon, who beat Kenya’s Gor Mahia 2-1 last week, will be without two of their key players when they face rejuvenated Yanga tomorrow.

Thierry Manzi and Olivier Niyonzima have been ruled out of the clash because they both accumulated two yellow cards during their match against Gor Mahia in Nairobi.