Yanga face tricky test of Singida Big Stars in NBC League

Dar es Salaam. The Mainland NBC Premier League defending champions, Young Africans (Yanga), today face the acidic test of Singida Big Stars after successfully qualifying for the semis of the CAF Confederation Cup.

Yanga, who are at the top of the league table, recently eliminated Rivers United of Nigeria on 2-0 goal aggregates to book space in the semifinals of the prestigious tournament for the first time in their history.

The Jangwani Street side will now face Marumo Gallants of South Africa on May 10 at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam before meeting in the return leg on May 17 in South Africa.

The Yanga- Singida match will kickoff at 4pm and each team will likely target victory in order to improve their chances in the league standings.

The encounter is expected to be thrilling and tough because of the records of both teams. The two teams met on November 17 last year and Yanga won 4-1 at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.

Currently, Yanga are at the top with 68 points and victory in today’s encounter will make them collect 71 points. Arithmetically, Yanga need at least eight points in order to retain the title for the second time in a row. Singida Big Stars, who are placed fourth in the league log, will also target victory to outplace Azam FC in the third place. The Singida based team have so far collected 51 points from 26 matches and Azam FC are in the third position with 53 points after playing 27 matches.

Speaking on the eve of the match, Yanga head coach Nesreddine Nabi said he is confident that he will conquer the game and continue to hold the top position in the eague standings.

“We have the obligation of winning every match in the league. We are the defending champions and we need to fight hard in order to retain the title for the second time in a row. It is our responsibility to make our fans happy. So, I am looking forward to winning this match, my players will be 100 per cent committed on the pitch. I understand that we are going to face one of the best teams in the league so we need to be perfect,” said Nabi.

Singida Big Stars head coach Hans van der Pluijm said they know that the match is going to be very tough, but added that his players are in high morale to face the challenge. He said they respect Yanga, but their prime task, he added, is to win the game and go up the third place.

“We will have to play with determination since Yanga are a strong team and are the defending champions, who will be targeting victory in the encounter,” said Pluijm.