After two stalemates in the league, the football gods decided to give us a third Kariakoo Derby of the season and this time there has to be a winner. It’s Yanga SC vs Simba SC in the semi-finals of the Azam Sports Federation Cup!
Yanga
It’s now inevitable, Young Africans will win the NBC Premier League, it’s just a matter of time for official confirmation, but they have definitely won it. The Jangwani giants will be looking for a League and Cup double.
In the quarter-finals against Geita Gold, the log leaders survived a late scare as they needed a stoppage-time penalty to equalise and force the game to extra-time where they eventually won on penalties.
This semi-final match comes at the right time for the NBC Premier League champions in waiting. Yanga have kept five consecutive clean sheets, which includes the last derby against Simba. The impressive defensive displays have seen the clubs’ defenders and goalkeeper all being called up by their respective national teams.
Djigui Diarra (Mali), Djuma Shabani (DRC), Kibwana Shomari, Dickson Job and Bakari Mwamyeto (Tanzania).
The club has started preparations for next season which saw some contracts being renewed, captain fantastic Bakari Mwamyeto and Zawadi Mauya were the first to put pen to paper.
Djigui Diarra has been outstanding and he will again be the main difference in this match. The five consecutive clean sheets make him a big contender for Player of the Month and to top it up, the Malian shot-stopper has conceded twice in the last eight matches.
Everything points towards Yanga in this fixture, from defence to attack.
The semifinals are on the cards - #kariakooderby in #Mwanza ⚽⚽🤝🤝🤝 on the 28 May 2022. #AzamSportsFederationCup #DaimaMbeleNyumaMwiko https://t.co/JVkFaSxwHL
— Senzo Mbatha 🇿🇦 (@Football_Senzo) May 16, 2022
Simba
The Lions will have to settle for second in the league and the ASFC is their last chance for silverware this season.
Going into the last league derby at the end of April, the gap was 13 points and Simba had a game in hand. Winning the derby and the game in hand would’ve given them an outside chance of reeling Yanga in but it wasn’t to be.
Simba head coach Pablo Franco Martin says his club have lacked quality in the final third, making reference inability to find the back of the net in the two league derbies and only managing one goal against Orlando Pirates in two matches in the CAF Confed Cup.
Though I agree with the Spanish coach, I also think struggling to get results in the small grounds has been their biggest issue this season. The CAF Confederations Cup quarter-finalists are unbeaten in the Mkapa Stadium this season in all competitions since the former Real Madrid assistant took charge.
Franco is in hot water, the team has been average on their travels, and failure to win here might lead to a coaching change. The fact that this game is played in Mwanza makes it even harder for the Lions.
This will be a grudge game, not only on the pitch but on the stands as well. This match comes in the middle of drama after the Simba CEO Barbara Gonzalez made comments which didn’t sit well with the Yanga bosses and it seems as if they are taking legal action.
Kariakoo Derby
— Aminatasportslady (@aminamaradona) May 16, 2022
📝ASFC
Yanga vs Simba
Itapigwa 28/5/2022
🏟 CCM kirumba Mwanza.. pic.twitter.com/x7ovQHgz9i
Prediction: Yanga Win
For me, this is a banker. Simba are disjointed at the moment and they’ve really struggled to get results outside Dar es Salaam. Therefore, I will go with Yanga to win this match convincingly and progress to the finals. I confidentially advise punters to add Yanga in all their bet slips.
