Young Africans, Simba clash in ‘war of titans’
What you need to know:
The Simba–Yanga rivalry, also known as the Kariakoo Derby, is a high-profile inter-city rivalry between the clubs. It is considered to be one of the biggest rivalries in association football in Africa along with the Soweto Derby in the Republic of South Africa (Kaizer Chief vs Orlando Pirates), Cairo Derby in Egypt (Al Ahly vs Zamaleck) and is considered the most famous fixture in Tanzania football.
Dar es Salaam. All roads will lead to the 60,000-seater National Stadium today as Young Africans take on their traditional rivals, Simba, in the ongoing Mainland Tanzania Premier League.
A lot has been said about today’s encounter, which will be officiated by prominent female referee Jonisia Rukya Kabakama, who is the proud owner of a Fifa badge.
Fans of the two teams have been engaged in verbal exchanges since the start of the league, with each set of supporters boasting about their team’s prowess.
With Young Africans taking pride in their unbeaten run in four matches, Simba seek to break the Jangwani street’s record in the match scheduled to start at 4pm. Young Africans have so far collected 12 points after four matches while Simba have collected 10 points from five encounters.
Young Africans go into the match in a bullish mood with their 100 per cent win record, while on the other hand Simba have made a swift recovery from a barren draw against Ndanda FC and a loss of 1-0 to Mbao FC before registering a 3-1 victory against Mwadui FC at the CCM Kambarage Stadium in Shinyanga.
Simba are seeking to follow up on their winning record with victory against Young Africans. Yanga, as they are known in Kiswahili, last beat their bitter rivals 2-0 on February 20, 2016. Since then, the Jangwani side has lost twice against Simba and drawn twice.
The Mwinyi Zahera-coached side currently has new faces in the squad who have instilled confidence in their fans.
Yanga’s reinforcement of their squad includes the capture of several top talents such as Heritier Makambo, who has so far scored two goals. Yanga will rely on the likes of Amissi Tambwe, Ibrahim Ajibu, Matheo Anthony, Deus Kaseke and Mrisho Ngassa to trouble the Simba backline.
For their part, Simba will bank on strikers Meddie Kagere from Rwanda and Ugandan import Emmanuel Okwi in the encounter. Kagere is currently the leading scorer with four goals. Jonas Mkude, Cletus Chama and Shiza Kichuya will also lead the team in searching for victory against Young Africans.
Speaking ahead of the match, Zahera declared his team ready for the showdown and expressed hope that they would win the match.
“We have prepared well for Simba and we will target the best results. My players’ morale is very high,” said the Congolese.
Simba’s Patrick Aussems also declared that they were targeting victory against Yanga in order to propel his team to the summit of the league. “My players are ready for the showdown... we are definitely going for a win,” said Aussems.
