Yanga squeeze out another win
Yanga striker Herieter Makambo (right) rises for an aerial ball during their Premier League match with African Lyon at the Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium in Arusha Region yesterday. On the left is attacking forward Ibrahim Ajibu. PHOTO|BERTHA ISMAIL.
What you need to know:
- The Jangwani street side top the table with 47 points from 17 matches
Dar es Salaam. Abdallah Shaibu was the hero for Young Africans (Yanga) after scoring the winner against African Lyon at the Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium in Arusha Region yesterday.
It was Yanga’s 15th victory in row in the ongoing Mainland Tanzania Premier League.
Shaibu, who is plays in the defensive area, planted the goal in the 65th minute after taking advantage of Ibrahim Ajibu’s free kick.
The Jangwani Street boys have now accumulated 47 points from 17 matches.
Yanga, who have been labelled as bankrupt following the exit of their tycoon Yusuf Manji, have been surprising football lovers.
They are left with two matches before the first round of the 2018/19 league ends.
Despite facing several challenges, Yanga have won all matches with the exception of two draws against Simba and Ndanda FC.
Yanga will play their next match Mbeya City at the Sokoine Stadium and before winding up with the round against Azam FC.
The defeat consigned African Lyon to the relegation zone with 12 points from 17 matches.
Other teams, which are in the relegation zone, are Tanzania Prisons, who sit 19th with 11 points from 17 matches and Biashara of Mara who occupy the 20th slot with 10 points from 16 matches.
Even though Yanga walked away with three points, it was not an easy victory at Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium.
African Lyon largely defensive and going forward on counterattacks, but their efforts were all in vain.
Yanga were disorganised in the first half, but improved their performance in the second half and scored what proved to be the winner.
“Truth be told, we played badly today. Things aren’t looking good for us at the moment, but we will work hard to reverse this trend,” said the team’s interim coach, Adam Kipatacho.
For his part, Yanga assistant head coach Noel Mwandila praised his players for mustering another result.
“We deserved victory from this match. It was tough, but our players rose up to the occasion. Our focus is now on Mbeya City,” said Mwandila.
Line ups:
African Lyon: Douglas Kasebo, Daudi Salim, Kassim Simbaulanga, Emmanuel Simwanza, Roland Msonjo, Jabir Aziz, Khalfan Mbarouk, Said Mtikila, Kassim Mdoe, Hamisi Thabit/Hamisi Balozi (75th), Baraka Jaffar.
Yanga: Ramadhani Kabwili/Klaus Kindoki, Paul Godfrey, Gardiel Michael, Abdallah Shaibu, Kelvin Yondan, Maka Edward, Ibrahim Ajibu, Pius Buswita, Heritier Makambo, Amissi Tambwe, Jaffar Mohammed/Deus Kaseke.
