Yanga to take on Mashujaa FC in crucial Tanzania Mainland top tier clash

Dar es Salaam. The Tanzania Mainland NBC Premier League defending champions, Young Africans (Yanga), will on Sunday, May 5, 2024, face the acid test of Mashujaa FC at the Lake Tanganyika Stadium in Kigoma Region.

The Yanga-Mashujaa match will kick off at 4pm and each team will likely be targeting victory in order to improve their chances in the league standings.

The encounter is expected to be thrilling and tough due to the status of the two teams in the league.

Yanga will target victory in order to maintain their pace of retaining the title while Mashujaa will need the best result in order to avoid the relegation zone.

Currently, Yanga are at the top of the league standings after collecting 62 points from 24 matches.

The Jangwani Street giants need only 12 points to retain the title for the third time in a row. Mashujaa FC are placed in the 14th position with 23 points from 24 matches.

Basically, Mashujaa FC are in danger of being demoted or featuring in a play-off against one of the two teams from the Championship to know their fate.

In their last four matches, the Kigoma-based team recorded two barren draws against Fountain Gate FC and Azam FC before losing 2-1 to Coastal Union and again being defeated 2-0 by Simba.

In their previous match held on February 8, 2024 against Yanga, the Mashujaa FC lost 2-1 at the Azam Complex in Dar es Salaam.

The league’s new entrants head coach Mohamed Abdallah alias Bares 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 assured that all the mistakes they made in their previous matches will not be repeated in the encounter.

He said they respect Yanga and their prime task is to win the game and improve their chances in the league standings.

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

Yanga head coach Miguel Gamondi said he is confident that he will conquer the game and continue to cling on to the top position in the league standings.

“We have the obligation of winning every match in the league. We are the defending champions who have to fight hard in order to retain the title for the third time in a row. We are duty bound 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 Gamondi.