Young Africans assistant coach Fred Felix Minziro was full of praise for his players after a deserved 3-0 win over JKT Ruvu on Sunday, which helped the Jangwani Street outfit all but seal the top flight title.
Tanzania Football Federation (TFF), Information Officer, Boniface Wambura
The champions-in-waiting put in a clinical display against the relegation strugglers JKT Ruvu with Simon Msuva, Hamis Kiiza and Nizar Khalfan scoring a goal apiece to send Ernest Brandts’ side nine points clear at the top of the table and within a point of a record top flight title.
Speaking after the match, Brandts’ right-hand man and former defender, Minziro, said they were more than pleased with the performance and the progress of their squad after their team closed in on a record 23rd league title and believes the title can be won in their next fixture, which is against Coastal Union.
“We got one right at the end of the first half and that makes a difference, in the second half we were basically in control of the match although they had a couple of half chances, so you can never be sure but the second goal killed match.”
“Now we want to make sure that we win the title before the last game of the season and that is within our reach, hopefully we can finish off the job,” said Minziro, who took charge of the team against JKT Ruvu in the absence of ailing head coach, Brandts.
Msuva opened the scoring for Yanga on the stroke of first half before Kiiza and Khalfan added two more to cap a dominant second half performance by the champions-in-waiting. Minziro hailed the players for keeping their composure after struggling to break down JKT Ruvu defence for most part of the first half.
“We lost more chances during the first half due to the players’ hope to take the lead early. In the second half I asked the players to be patient to win the game. It was a good stuff from the players.”
The result means Yanga reached 56 points from 24 games. Azam, who have an outside chance, are on 47 points having played 23 games. A point against Coastal Union or dethroned champions Simba in their final two games respectively will confirm the Jangwani Street club’s status as new Premier League champions, but Minziro was confident the title will be sealed before the derby match.
Yanga could as well clinch the title if Azam fail to beat Coastal Union this Friday. Meanwhile, the Sunday’s encounter between Yanga and JKT Ruvu played at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam realised 66,568,000/-, according to the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF).
TFF Information Officer, Boniface Wambura said the two teams received 15,702,752.45/- apiece while the Value Added Tax (VAT) amounted to 10,154,440.68/-. Wambura said the CAF Confederation Cup match between Azam and FAR Rabat of Morocco played last Saturday at the same venue churned 50,850,000/- and the host team, Azam bagged in 33,955,875/-.
In another development, Azam’s Premier League with Coastal Union has been rescheduled due to the former’s involvement in the CAF Confederation Cup. The fixture due at the Mkwakwani Stadium in Tanga was scheduled for Saturday, April 27, but will now take place 24 hours earlier on Friday, the TFF has confirmed.
According to Wambura, Azam will board the flight on April 28 ahead of their second round return leg match against FAR Rabat scheduled between May 3 and 5. The two sides played out a barren draw in the first leg in Dar es Salaam and Azam will need to score and avoid defeat in Rabat to have any chances of going through.
Source Tanzania Daily News
