Tanzanian media taunts AFC Leopards following Simba mauling
AFC Leopards have been turned into a laughing stock by the Tanzanian media following an embarrassing defeat to Simba SC in a high profile friendly clash this week.
The Kenyan Premier League giants were hammered 4- 0 by the Msimbazi street based giants in a contest played out at a packed 60,000-seater stadium.
The match was played as part of celebrations to mark Simba’s 80th birthday.
The “Wekundu wa Msimbazi” who are managed by Cameroon coach Joseph Omog, scored their goals through Burundian star Laudit Mavugo, Ibrahim Ajib, who netted twice, and Shuza Kichuya.
“Simba – 4G” screamed the headline of Tanzania’s Sports bi weekly Mwanaspoti, a publication of the Nation Media Group.
The paper went on to praise Simba, with the writer claiming that the “Simba of old is back” and Leopards were “far much inferior to the newly assembled Simba squad consisting talents such as Ivorian Blangon Fredrick, another new signings Javou Bokungu and Mdhamiru Yasin.
The paper also suggested Simba’s mauling of Leopards had gone some way in “revenging” the loss another Tanzanian club Yanga SC suffered at the hands of Gor Mahia, during the Cecafa Kagame Cup tournament staged at the same venue last year.
Meanwhile Leopards midfielder Bernard Mang’oli, who was appreciated for his efforts during the game, attributed the disappointing defeat to “fatigue”.
“We played in Mumias (against Ushuru) on Saturday, so it was always going to be difficult to try and match Simba at home for the entire game. You can note we played very well in the first half but collapsed in the second stanza,” the Kenya international noted.
Leopards are ninth in the Kenyan Premier League standings and will next play Kakamega Homeboyz at the Mumias Sports Complex on Sunday.