Wekundu wa Msimbazi scored early to settle the nerves and held on to narrow the gap at the top to five points
Joash Onyango played a starring role as Simba beat bitter rivals Yanga 2-0 to claim the Kariakoo derby bragging rights and revive their Tanzania Premier League title hopes on Sunday.
Onyango played in defence alongside Congolese Henock Baka, as coach Roberto Oliveira, popularly known as Robertinho, kept his promise of fielding a consistent starting XI.
Playing before a packed Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam, Simba made their intentions clear when Baka rose highest to head home the opener just seconds after the start, connecting well with Shomari Kapombe’s cross, after they had played a short corner.
The home side then delighted their supporters with a second goal that arrived in some style. Against the run of play, Tanzania international Kibu Denis Prosper picked the ball, made two touches and instead of passing to a free teammate wide on his right, fired an unstoppable shot into the top left corner from nearly 25 yards out.
The goal gave Simba more impetus and looked to have deflated Yanga who looked out of sorts, having come into the game as the form team, courtesy of their five straight wins in all competitions, prior to Sunday’s encounter.
From there, Simba bossed proceedings while their backline did not give the Yanga forwards a sniff. Onyango was at the centre of all good defensive actions for Wekundu wa Msimbazi, diving in to win tackles while claiming aerial dues with ease.
One such a tackle almost led to a penalty when he brought down Yanga captain Bakari Nondo Mwamnyeto but the referee waved away the league leaders’ complaints.
Victory gives Simba more than bragging rights as they have narrowed the gap on their rivals to five points from 26 matches, staying second on the log with 63 while Yanga have 68.
It is back to the drawing board for Yanga as they will need to avoid dropping further points to retain their title with four games remaining.
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