Rough road for Yanga SC as they eye elusive league title
Yanga striker Fiston Mayele (left) vies for the ball against KMC players Andrew Vincent and Juma Kaseja during their NBC Premier League at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on Saturdayt. Yanga won 2-0. PHOTO| LOVENESS BERNARD
What you need to know:
- Yanga now top the table with 48 points from 18 matches they have played. They are the only side that has so far not lost a match
Dar es Salaam. Young Africans might have maintained their unbeaten run in the NBC Premier League race with a 2-0 win over KMC on Saturday, but they still a mountain to climb to achieve their season’s plan.
Yanga, as they are popularly known, now top the league table with 48 points after playing 18 matches. Yanga have managed to win 15 and draw three matches while maintaining unbeaten run.
Simba sit second after collecting 37 points from 17 matches. However, the Msimbazi Street giants, who are also the defending champions, have a game in hand.
They side have lost two matches, against Kagera Sugar and Mbeya City with a 1-0 score margin apiece. Simba are now 11 points behind to Yanga. Leaders Yanga will play against Azam FC on April 6 and later take on against their nemesis Simba on April 30 at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.
The matches are not a walk in the park for the red-hot Jangwani Street side. These are currently considered as he decisive in the race for the title. Should they claim maximum points the road to the trophy will be easy.
It is already the fourth season the Yanga have not won the coveted the premiership, which has been dominated by Simba.
In the first round, Yanga managed to beat Azam FC 2-0, thanks to goals by Fiston Mayele and Jesus Moloko. They also recorded a barren draw against Simba in the first round match respectively.
Despite the 2-0 victory in the first round, Yanga are scheduled to face a tough test against Azam FC who have in good form since hiring a new coach, Abdihamid Moalin.
Moalin led Azam FC to eliminate Yanga in the Mapinduzi Cup through penalties after a goalless draw. If Yanga beat Azam and Simba, they would closer to the title than any other team.
This is because Yanga will have widened the point gap to 14 against Simba (If Simba will win against Polisi Tanzania) and 26 points against Azam FC.
Prominent analyst Ali Mayay said Yanga only need to win the next tough matches in order to reach at least 85 percent of claiming the league.
Mayay said losses for Yanga may deal them a huge blow considering they topped the league for a long period of the season.
Much as many pundits give Yanga high chances of toppling Simba as the champions, Simba still have a big mathematical chance of defending the title they have won for four consecutive seasons.
