Simba Sports Club veteran player Erasto Nyoni has said the team is confident of securing another victory against Vipers of Uganda to improve their chances of reaching the CAF Champions League quarterfinals.
Simba will host Vipers from 7pm tomorrow at Dar es Salaam’s Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.
It is a crucial match for both teams as they seek to reach the last eight from Group C.
Nyoni said on behalf of his teammates after Saturday’s afternoon training session in Dar es Salaam that they were ready for the fixture and called for the support of football fans.
“We need to win the match and put ourselves in a good position of qualifying for the knockout stage. I urge football fans to attend the match in large numbers and cheer us to victory. We lost our first home match to Raja and we need to make amends on Tuesday. We must appease our fans by beating Vipers again.”
Simba are placed third in Group C with three points from as many matches.
Simba lost 1-0 to Horoya AC of Guinea in Conakry before crashing to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Morocco’s Raja CA in Dar Salaam. They registered their first win when they defeated Vipers 1-0 in Entebbe on February 25.
Raja top the group with maximum nine points from three matches and already have one foot in the quarterfinals.
Horoya are second with four points and will take a huge step towards the knockout stage if they defeat Raja this week.
Nyoni said despite beating Vipers away and hosting them on Tuesday, they are not taking the Ugandan side lightly.
“Our overriding intention is to collect maximum points and wait for our next match against Horoya on March 18 in Dar es Salaam. Both matches will be tough, but I believe we have what it takes to prevail.”
Meanwhile, Simba media and information officer Ahmed Ally said it would be a “bitter embarrassment” if Simba are eliminated in the group stage.
“Simba are a big club in Africa and Tanzanians expect nothing short of us reaching the next round,” he said.
Ally added that newly appointed Culture, Arts and Sports deputy minister Hamis Mwinjuma is expected to be among high-profile figures who will attend tomorrow’s match.
