Simba responded to Yanga’s win a day earlier to regain their spot at the top, taking their tally to 38 points from 16 games. Speaking after a hard-fought win, courtesy of second half strikes by midfield duo of Mzamiru Yassin and Mohamed Ibrahim, Mayanja oozed confidence that Simba are better poised to end their title drought.
The Reds have gone four seasons without a league title but they have enjoyed a good run this campaign, currently topping the league table, two points ahead of closest challengers and holders Young Africans.
Simba’s title credentials got a stern test when they suffered two defeats in a row at the closing of first round, but Sunday’s win has restored confidence among the Msimbazi Street faithful.
It was not easy for the Reds though as they looked lethargic at Nangwanda Sijaona Stadium in the opening half, which was dominated by the host team, Ndanda, only to find their stride after the restart. Mayanja praised his players’ fighting spirit, saying they worked hard for the win, which puts them firmly on pilot seat as the title race gathers pace.
“We started slowly and Ndanda were very fast, but we’re a different team in the second half, we changed the tempo of our game and got the goals and three points,” said the Ugandan trainer, who last season guided Simba to third-place finish.
“We’re in good position and in good position to win the league this season,” added Mayanja, who attributed their poor performance in the first half to mid-season break.
“We expected that after the mid-season break, players are still short of fitness … we’re going to work more on their fitness in the coming days and hopeful we’ll soon get them to the level they need to be,” said Mayanja.
The Ugandan, an assistant to Cameroonian Joseph Omog, said the fact that Simba have failed to mount a title challenge in four seasons means they’re determined to work even harder to restore their place at the top of Mainland football.
Azam who have fallen out of fever this season are distant third with 26 points.
The East African Club Champions, Azam who have dropped out of favour this season were forced to a barren draw with African Lyon in their second round’s opener on Sunday. Yanga who begun the second round with hefty 3-0 win over relegation haunted JKT Ruvu, managed to claim a temporary league diadem, which lasted only 24 hours, before
Simba reclaimed it with a sweet 2-0 victory over defiant Ndanda FC away at Nangwanda Stadium in Mtwara. Only ten goals were scored when the league resumed over the weekend, with Simba and Yanga claiming half of them.
Ten goals in eight matches of the league resumption brought an average of 1.25 goal per game. Last year there were 18 goals netted at the league restart with an average of 3 goals per match.
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