By Osoro Nyawangah, DAR ES SALAAM Tanzania
The Moroccan football giants,
Wydad Athletic Club, lost 2-0 to Tanzanian club Simba SC today in the fourth
group stage match scheduled as part of the CAF Champions League.
The Tanzania lions, playing in
their hometown of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s commercial capital, scored both
goals through midfielder Essomba Onana.
The goals that sealed Wydad’s
fate were both expertly executed by Cameroonian talent Leandre Willy Essomba
Onana, finding the back of the net in the 36th and 38th minutes of the
encounter.
The host club, who were
desperate for their first group stage win in a grudge match against the former
champions who edged them 1-0 last weekend.
With the backing of the highly
vocal crowd, the Tanzanian giants easily outclassed the Moroccans.
Showing his professional
coaching skills, Abdelhak Benchikha, an Algerian football coach and
former player who is the manager of Simba SC decided to play second
selection players to hold Wydad AC in the second half.
The players; Israel
Patrick Mwenda, Kennedy Juma, David Kameta and Abdalla managed
to suffocate the Wydad's strategic scoring engine.
The defeat has complicated
matters for the Casablanca team, who have missed out on a chance to get back
into the race to qualify for the quarter-finals of the CAF Champions League.
Since the start of the
tournament, Wydad have only managed to win one of their four matches.
The Moroccan side currently
sit bottom of Group B with three points, behind ASEC of the Ivory Coast,
Tanzania's Simba and Botswana's Jwaneng Galaxy.
Abdelhak Benchikha
Wydad’s recent run of poor form has prompted the club to sack former coach Adil Ramzi in favor of Tunisian coach Faouzi Benzarti, who had previously led the team to league and CAF Super Cup glory. According to a statement from CAF, the coach “must work his magic” thanks to his highly praised reputation with Wydad.
The Tunisian veteran, who is back in charge of the Moroccan team for the fourth time in his coaching career, will have to live up to expectations if Wydad are to regain the skills with which they once thrilled their fans, CAF said.
Simba squad: Ayoub Lakred, Shomari Kapombe, Mohamed Hussein, Che malone, Henock Inonga/Kennedy Juma, Fabrice Ngoma, Kibu Denis/David Kameta, Mzamiru Yassin, Jean Baleke/John Bocco, Clatous Chama/Abdalla, Willy Onana /Israel Patrick Mwenda - Africa
No comments:
Post a Comment