Yanga forward Amissi Tambwe (left) and playmaker Thabani Kamusoko celebrate a goal during their Vodacom Premier League match against Majimaji FC at the National Stadium yesterday. Yanga won 5-0. photo | said khamis
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Amissi Tambwe plundered a hat-trick to guide Young Africans to a 5-0 annihilation of Majimaji FC at the National Stadium.
Dar es Salaam. Amissi Tambwe plundered a hat-trick to guide Young Africans to a 5-0 annihilation of Majimaji FC at the National Stadium.
The largely one-sided Vodacom Premier League match also saw Zimbabweans Donald Ngoma and Thabani Kamusoko find the back of the net.
The victory took the Hans van Pluijm’s men to the top of the table with 39 points, tying on points with Azam FC. However, Yanga stay atop courtesy of a superior goal difference. Majimaji, who are two points only above the relegation zone, have garnered 12 points from 15 matches. They sit 13th in the 16-team log.
At Mkwakwani Stadium, African Sports, who nicked a point from Azam last week, held Mtibwa Sugar to a goalless draw.
The Meck Mexime-coached outfit had hoped to collect maximum points from African Sports so as to close the gap on third-placed Simba SC, but the home side proved to be hard to break.
Mtibwa now occupy the fourth position having racked up 28 points, five adrift of resurgent Simba.
In Shinyanga, Mwadui FC took advantage of their home ground to edge bottom-placed Kagera Sugar 2-1. However, attention of a lot of fans was on the Yanga-Majimaji match at the 60,000-seater venue.
The match kicked off with the Jangwani Street heavyweights probing from the left to right for an opening goal.
Majimaji’s resistance only lasted four minutes when Kamusoko clinically opened the scoring. He connected a Deus Kaseke’s teasing cross past stunned David Burhani. Majimaji attempted to raid the Yanga goal, but they could not trouble Deogratias Munishi.
Yanga continued with a wave of attacks on the Majimaji goal, but they also ran out of ideas and went to the break holding a wafer-thin lead.
Majimaji’s hopes of pulling the goal back in the second half were quashed after Ngoma doubled the advantage in the 47th minute. Afterwards, Yanga dictated the pace of the game with Kaseke, Ngoma and Msuva, all fluffing decent chances.
However, Tambwe made amends in the 57th minute when he put the score well beyond Majimaji’s reach. Majimaji’s efforts to reduce the deficit were thwarted by a watertight Yanga rear-guard marshalled by Kelvin Yondani.
Majimaji coach Kally Ongala opted for substitutions when he brought in Godfrey Taita in place of Paul Maona and Hassan Hamis for Peter Mapunda, but they could hardly create a chance. Yanga also called off Msuva for Issoufou Boubacar and his impact was immediate as the Ghanaian delivered a pass that Tambwe capitalised to score his second of the evening.
The Burundian sealed a hat-trick with five minutes to go when Marcel Bonaventura failed to clear an easy ball.
Yanga: Deogratias Munishi, Juma Abdul, Oscar Joshua, Kevin Yondani, Vincent Bossou, Salum Telela, Simon Msuva, Thabani Kamusoko, Donald Ngoma, Amissi Tambwe, Deus Kaseke. Majimaji: David Burhani, Alex Kondo, Bahati Yusuph, Mpoki Mwakinyuke, Sadiq Gawaza, Lulanga Mapunda, Peter Mapunda, Paul Maona, Marcel Bonaventura, Sixmund Mwakasega na Frank Sekule.
