Azam FC players celebrate after Didier Kavumbagu scored their third goal against Kagera Sugar in the Mainland Premier League match at the CCM Kirumba Stadium in Mwanza yesterday. PHOTO/MASOUD MASASI
What you need to know:
Didier Kavumbagu struck twice to steer the defending champions to the victory they needed to topple Mtibwa Sugar, who were not in action yesterday.
Mwanza. In-form Azam FC again have outright possession of top spot in the Mainland Premier League following a 3-1 victory over Kagera Sugar at the CCM Kirumba Stadium here yesterday.
Didier Kavumbagu struck twice to steer the defending champions to the victory they needed to topple Mtibwa Sugar, who were not in action yesterday.
The ice cream makers started the day behind Morogoro’s Mtibwa Sugar simply on goal difference in a so far captivating campaign.
They now top the league table with 20 points, three ahead of Mtibwa Sugar and third placed JKT Ruvu, and five ahead of Young Africans, who sit fourth in the league table.
For Azam, Kipre Tchetche made the all-important breakthrough three minutes into the game before Kavumbagu doubled their lead in the 37th minute with a right-foot drive from ten yards for a 2-0 half time lead.
After a wobbly start, Kagera Sugar came out a more aggressive side on resumption and pressed upfront relentlessly in search of a goal.
Their efforts paid off four minutes into the second half when Rashid Mandawa cleverly beat two defenders to unleash a shot that went straight into the net.
From then, Kagera Sugar seemed set to equalize as they put Azam at bay for a better part of the second half, but poor finishing let them down.
A few minutes to time, Kavumbagu sealed the score for the Dar es Salaam team with a sizzling effort that gave Kagera Sugar goalkeeper no chance.
The victory also put the ice cream makers in the perfect frame of mind ahead of their next match against Mainland giants Simba at the National Stadium on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Azam leadership believes the ice cream makers’ camp in DR Congo will give them the exposure and tactics they need to make a mark in the CAF Confederation Cup.
The Mainland champions are expected to head to the DR Congo later this month for a series of warm-ups ahead of their continental assignment against El-Merreikh of Sudan.
“We have targeted to make great strides in the Confederation Cup and that is why we are heading to DR Congo,” the club’s spokesman, Jafari Idd, said yesterday.
“We expect to play at least four trial matches against top teams in DR Congo,” he said. But fell short of naming the outfits.
Azam returned to Dar es Salaam last week from Zanzibar where they competed in the 2015 Mapinduzi Cup.
Last month, they played a series of high-profile friendly matches in Kampala, Uganda ahead of the CAF Confederation Cup.
They are expected to leave for DR Congo on Idd said they will leave He said the team will depart for Congo soon after taking on Simba on January 24 in Dar es Salaam in one of the Premier league assignments.
On Saturday, they will go head-to-head with Mainland giants Simba at the National Stadium in what will be their last
