The 20th day of April 2024 brought excitement to football fans in Tanzania and East Africa at large as Young Africans famously known as Yanga welcomed Simba at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in a thrilling Kariakoo Derby.
The turnout was great but it took a keen eye to notice a good number of empty seats in the away end. Perhaps an expression of distress from Simba faithfuls towards their club’s poor form and recent disappointing results both locally and in the CAF Champions League. Simba got knocked out the competition and have recently bowed out of the CRDB Confederation Cup, getting knocked out through penalty shootouts by Mashujaa FC. That makes it one win, three losses and a draw in their last five games in all competitions.
January saw Simba release their Congolese striker Jean Baleke and Moses Phiri, replacing the duo with Ivorian Freddy Michael Kouablan and Pa Omar Jobe. The two latest arrivals have found it difficult to find their way to the starting lineup especially when facing tougher opponents and this wasn’t any different on Saturday as they sat out for more than an hour in what was their first derby in the NBC Premier League.
This as it has been witnessed in Simba’s recent fixtures made them struggle to finish their goal scoring chances with Burundi international Saido Ntibazonkiza leading their attack and two holding midfielders Fabrice Ngoma and Sadio Kanoute playing the advanced roles right behind him.
Things went south for third placed Simba after Henoc Inonga went down injured and they were forced into an early substitution, Hussein Kazi replacing him at the heart of the defence. Yanga on the other hand also made an enforced replacement after left back Lomalisa went out through injury. NBC Premier League’s March player of the month, Stephane Aziz Ki, who was presented with his award right before kickoff gave the hosts the lead through the spot after being brought down in the penalty area by Hussein Kazi. A brilliant pass from midfield by former Gor Mahia midfielder Khalid Aucho found Joseph Guede who rounded goalkeeper Ayoub Lakred and found the back of the net a few minutes before the interval.
The second half displayed the recent difference in quality between these two sides as Simba were all over the place in attack showing lack of chemistry whereas Yanga showcased their discipline in all departments. Saido Ntibazonkiza and Ngoma were replaced just before the hour mark by Freddy Kouablan and Luis Miquissone and it took the Ivorian striker fifteen minutes to pull one back for Simba, Zambian Clatous Chama with yet another goal involvement as he provided the assist.
There was late drama in the final fifteen minutes and added time with Simba throwing everything they had in their attack but it was too little too late as Yanga stayed resilient and fought successfully for maximum points widening the gap between the two sides to twelve points having played a game more. Yanga getting the bragging rights at full time after completing the league double over Simba for the first time since the 2015/16 season.
This result should be an awakening to those at the top hierarchy in Simba Sports Club with so much concern being raised about their signings and the players featuring for the club in recent games. Most fans having the feeling that they are not good enough to represent the club at the highest levels. However, boss Abdelhak Benchika might have gotten a clear message from Freddy Kouablan to put more trust in him to lead his attack as he stepped up and brought a glimpse of hope in a game that meant alot to Simba.
Playing Saido Ntibazonkiza as the striker deprives the whole team of so much in attack than it provides and Benchika should perhaps try Freddy Kouablan upfront for the rest of the season to build up on his confidence and most importantly the chemistry among his attackers.
