Yanga maintain unbeaten run in Mainland Premier League
Yanga’s attacking midfielder Farid Mussa (right) dribbles during the Mainland Tanzania Premier League match against Ruvu Shooting at the Lake Tanganyika Stadium in Kigoma Region yesterday. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- As per the league procedures, 15th and 16th placed teams will be relegated to the Championship League (formerly the first division)
Kigoma. Young Africans (Yanga) yesterday maintained their unbeaten run in the ongoing Mainland Tanzania Premier League after they ended in a barren draw against Ruvu Shooting at the Lake Tanganyika Stadium in Kigoma Region.
The result means Yanga still dominate the top position with 56 points from the 22 matches they have played so far.
This is the fifth draw for the team since the start of the 2022 Mainland Premier League and have a 13-point gap against defending champions Simba who are second with 43 points from 21 games.
Ruvu Shooting played well in yesterday’s encounter and created various scoring chances.
The team head coach, Charles Boniface Mkwasa, said they are still fighting to avoid the relegation zone as they are now placed 13th with 22 points from 21 matches.
“We need to stretch our muscles in order to improve our chances in the league table. My players fought hard in the match and managed to stop Yanga from scoring goals,” said Mkwasa.
Meanwhile, the league continues today at two different venues. At the Karume Stadium in Musoma, Biashara Mara United will host Dodoma Jiji FC while Mbeya Kwanza will meet Tanzania Prisons at the Sokoine Stadium in Mbeya Region. The matches are very important for the four teams in order to improve their chances in the league standings.
Biashara United Mara are placed 12th after collecting 23 points from 21 matches and target victory in order to avoid the demotion zone in the league. The team head coach Vivier Bahati said they are taking the game seriously and target victory in order to avoid the danger zone.
He said Dodoma Jiji FC are one of the strong teams in the league and expect a strong opposition from them.
“It is going to be a tough match, but we have prepared well for victory and not otherwise. We target to bag all the three points in order to keep on going up in the league standings” said Bahati.
For his part, Dodoma Jiji FC head coach Masoud Djuma said they also target victory in the encounter. The Dodoma based team are placed 11th with 24 points from 21 matches.
Another tough match in today’s encounter will see the bottom placed side Mbeya Kwanza hosting Tanzania Prisons at the Sokoine Stadium.
Mbeya Kwanza have so far collected 18 points from 21 matches while Tanzania Prisons are placed 14th after collecting 22 points from 21 games.
As per the league procedures, 15th and 16th placed teams will be relegated to the Championship League (formerly the First Division League ) while 14th and 13th placed sides will have to feature in special relegation playoff matches against the third and fourth placed teams in the Championship league table.
