Simba Queens face Mamelodi Sundowns test in CAF Champions League semis

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s flagbearers  in the CAF Women’s Champions League, Simba Queens, today meet  the defending champions, Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa in the first semifinal match scheduled to take place at Stade Moulay Hassan in Rabat, Morocco.

The encounter has been scheduled to kickoff at 7pm Tanzanian time and the two teams target victory in order to qualify for the final stage scheduled to take place on Sunday at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.

The loser will play on the third playoff scheduled to take place at Stade Moulay Hassan on Saturday against the loser between AS FAR Rabat and the Nigerian side, Bayelsa Queens, who meet today at 11pm.

Simba Queens head coach Charles Lukula said all his players are in good shape ahead of the encounter and are targeting victory.
He said his players have promised to fight hard in order to win today’s match and qualify for the final.

“It is a crucial match to us to win and qualify for the final. It is going to be tough, but we have the mission and vision of making all football fans in Tanzania happy by defeating the South Africans,” said Lukula.
He explained that they are aware that they are facing a tough match, but, he added, they are determined to do their best and make new history in the game, despite featuring in the tournament for the first time.
“My players are improving day by day. We lost 1-0 to AS FAR Rabat, but we later won 2-0 against Determine Girls of Liberia and then outshined Zambia’s Green Buffaloes with a 2-0 win to finish second in group A.
“I have watched Mamelodi Sundowns, they are good, but we need to prove our worth in the match. My players are in high morale and I call upon all Tanzanians to give us moral support,” he said.
Mamelodi Sundowns, who topped group B after collecting nine points, won 2-1 over Bayelsa Queens and later won 5-0 over Wadi Degla of Egypt before beating TP Mazembe of DR Congo 4-0.

The winners of the competition will take home $400 000 (Sh940 million) while the runners-up will be awarded $250 000 (Sh584 million) and the third placed team and two losing semi-finalists will each receive $200 000 (Sh465 million).

Simba Queens- Match facts

Victory for Simba Queens will see them become the first club or national team from East Africa to reach the final of a senior CAF Women’s tournament.Progression to the final will see Simba Queens become just the third East African club men’s or women’s team to reach the CAF Champions League or CAF WCL Final.Previously their name sake Ugandan club Simba F.C. and their rivals SC Villa were runners up in the African Club of Champions Cup the pre-cursor to the CAF Champions League in 1972 and 1991 respectively.Should they reach the final it will be the second time that Simba would have one of their team’s make it to the final of a CAF Club competition, in 1993 their men’s team were runners up in the CAF Cup losing out to Ivorian club Stella Adjamé 2-0 on aggregate.Simba Queens became the second team in CAF WCL Finals history to lose their first game and reach the last four, prior to the current tournament only Malabo Kings in 2021 had lost first up and reached the last four. Fellow semi-finalists in Morocco Bayelsa Queens have also achieved the same feat.Simba Queens began the 2022 CAF WCL Finals with a 1-0 loss to hosts AS FAR in their opening game, they then bounced back with successive 2-0 wins over Determine Girls and Green Buffaloes.A win in open play or on penalties will see Simba Queens become the first team to win three successive games at their debut CAF WCL Finals appearance.Victory will also see them become just the second team along with Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies and AS FAR to win three games in a row at the finals.Opah Clement is Simba Queens leading scorer at the current tournament, she has scored in their last two games scoring the opening goal in the 53rd minute against Determine Girls in a 2-0 win, and the second goal in their win over Green Buffaloes.To date all of Simba Queens games have been 0-0 at half time, all five goals scored in games involving them were scored in the second half. None of these goals have come before the 50th minute with four goals coming after the 60th minute mark.The earliest goal scored in a game involving Simba Queens was Opah Clement’s 53rd minute strike in their 2-0 win over Determine Girls.Opah Clement Sanga has scored in successive games for Simba Queens, another goal in this game will see her join Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies striker Lelona Daweti as one of two players to have scored in three games in a row at the finals.Opah Clement has helped Simba Queens turn around their fortunes in the last two games as she has scored two goals with just three shots on target in her last two appearances.Fatuma Issa made the most touches by any Simba player in the win over Green Buffaloes (70), she also made 50 passes in the game.Simba Queens goalkeeper Gelwa Lugomba has kept successive clean sheets she has conceded just one goal in three appearances, while facing 11 shots and making 10 saves.Gelwa Lugomba is the only goalkeeper to have kept successive clean-sheets at the 2022 CAF WCL Finals, Bayelsa Queens goalkeeper Ange Bawou did keep a clean-sheet in their win over TP Mazembe in their second group game. She was then withdrawn four minutes from time during their win over Wadi Degla which did not see her complete the full 90 minutes.They had the joint best defensive record along with Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies and AS FAR in the group stages conceding just one goal.Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies

Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies are featuring in the Semi-finals of the CAF WCL for a second time, they defeated Malabo Kings in 2021 in the last four on spot kicks winning 6-5 in the shoot-out after the game ended 0-0.Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies win over Malabo Kings in the 2021 Semi-finals is only one of two games at the finals to end goalless, both have involved Sundowns. It is also the only game at the finals to have been decided on penalties.Defending Champions Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies extended their unbeaten run at the CAF WCL to 8 games (W6 D2), with their 4-0 win over TP Mazembe in their final group game.Having scored just four goals at the 2021 CAF WCL Finals, they have now scored 11 at the current tournament the most goals by a club at a single CAF WCL Finals going one better than the 10 goals scored by Hasaacas Ladies at the 2021 tournament.Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies are the first team at the CAF WCL Finals to win successive games at the tournament by four or more goals, with their 5-0 win over Wadi Degla and their 4-0 win over TP Mazembe in their last two games.Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies have won three games in a row at the CAF WCL Finals for the first time and won all three of their group games for the first time.Starting with their win over Hasaacas Ladies in the 2021 Final Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies have won their last four games at the finals in open play. They also defeated Malabo Kings on penalties in the 2021 Finals and are looking for a sixth win in a row.Mamelodi Sundowns fourth goal scored by Gabonnelwe Kekana in their 4-0 win over TP Mazembe was their 15th goal at the finals.