The Wekundu wa Msimbazi official is confident the team will do the job against their sworn rivals in the Kariakoo Derby
Simba SC official Haji Manara has claimed they will easily carry the day in the Mainland Premier League derby if they use their scoring chances against Young Africans (Yanga SC) on Saturday.
The two Tanzanian giants will face off for the first Kariakoo Derby this season with Yanga sitting ahead of Simba in the 18-team league table.
And ahead of the clash, Manara has now said they have a better squad than that of their opponents and has further explained that they will carry the day if they use their chances created.
“We all know the difficulties of playing in a derby, and we know our rivals will come to spoil our style of play by applying bad tactics and using force, but all said and done, we will play our usual passing game and you know how many chances we can create in a single match,” Manara wrote on his social media pages.
“We will not underrate our opponents, we will just play our game, and one thing that I know, if we use our chances, then we will win the game very early, it will be a done game if we use our chances well.
“At the end of the day, the winner will be the team which prepared well, and we have done enough preparations and also the team with a good squad, and you know very well Simba have the best squad in Tanzania, so we will win the derby, without fear.”
With reports emerging that Simba will miss key players – Clatous Chama and Chris Mugalu – for the derby, Manura has assured their fans that they will still have a good squad to do the job.
“Our team is unshakable, we have a good squad, we don’t need to fear because two or three players are missing, the coach knows his job well, we want Simba fans to come in large numbers and support the team.
“We are the defending champions and we are also keen to defend the title again, so as the champion, you must make sure that you will win your matches, including the derby, so we don’t fear anyone, we have set our targets for the season and we must achieve them.”
Last season, the two giants met three times, with the first round ending in a 2-2 draw before Yanga turned on the screw to win the second round fixture 1-0. They again faced off in the semi-finals of the FA Cup where Simba won 4-1.
The Wekundu wa Msimbazi then went ahead to seal a season double – winning the Community Shield, the league, and the domestic cup – after beating Namungo FC 2-1 in the final played in Sumbawanga, Rukwa.
