Simba SC look to roar against Agosto today

Dar es Salaam. Football giants in the country, Simba SC, are today looking to roar against Angola’s Clube Desportivo 1º de Agosto at Estádio 11 de Novembro in Luanda, Angola.

The match has been scheduled to start at 8pm Tanzanian time and Simba acting head coach Juma Mgunda said his players are ready for the encounter.

Despite missing the services of Shomari Kapombe due to an injury, Mgunda said he believes his players will show their commitments in the encounter. He said the match is expected to be very tough, expressing that Agosto are one of the strong teams in the competition. Primeiro de Agosto, who qualified for the semis of the tournament in 2018, have returned to the competition for the first time since 2019 and are now keen to make an impact.

They progressed to this round after edging out Zambia’s Red Arrows 2-1 on goal aggregates.

Having missed out on the group stage last season after a shocking loss to Botswana’s Jwaneng Galaxy, Simba will not be risking any mistakes this time round. They have been in good form, winning four of their first five games of the season in the Mainland Tanzania Premier League. The Reds progressed to this round after beating Malawi’s Nyasa Big Bullets 4-0 on goal aggregates.

History shows that Simba are playing for the third time in Angola, whereby in 1993 they recorded a 1-1 draw against Atletico Sport Aviacao in the CAF Cup and later lost 4-0 to Recreativo do Libolo of Angola in the African Champions League. Simba were eliminated by Libolo on 5-0 goal aggregates in 2013. Mgunda said their target is to come out with a positive result in their away game so that it can be easier for them to do the same in their return leg one week later.

“We have trained well for the encounter. We will be playing away against Agosto, who qualified for the stage after eliminating Red Arrows of Zambia. It is going to be a tough game,” said former player-turned coach Mgunda.