Tanzania derby

By  ERNEST NDUNDA in Dar-es-Salaam

Holders Yanga clash with Azam in an all-Tanzanian final as Cecafa Kagame Club Championships come to an end  at the National Stadium, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, this afternoon.

  Yanga needed a 99th minute goal to edge out APR of Rwanda, while Azam, which has two Kenyans Ibrahim Shikanda and George ‘Blackberry’ Odhiambo, stunned pre-match favourites AS Vita of DRC Congo in the semi-finals on Thursday.

 Yanga start as favourite by the virtue of being title holders but Azam will stop at  nothing to realise their dream of lifting the title.

 Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet who handles Yanga predicts tough final this afternoon and according to him, the trophy might go either way.

“I have a lot of respect for Azam as they have been improving each day. It wouldn’t be an easy match,” said Saintfiet.

“ We are in the final, which is a fantastic performance. What is remaining now is to get an extra energy to beat Azam on Saturday,” he added.

 He said he had no injury worries ahead of today’s final and was optimistic of retaining the title for the second year running.

Azam tactician Stewart John Hall said the semi-final win against AS Vita was a morale booster for his boys.

“We are making our maiden appearance  in the tournament and our presence has been felt. We want to get title from Yanga,” said the Briton coach.

 “I too expect tough match against Yanga, my team is intact ready to roll,” added Hall.

 Hall is likely to maintain the semi-final squad where John Bocco, Ramathan Chombo and Ibrahim Mwaipopo will go for goals with Degratius Munishi firm between the goal-posts.

Kenya’s Shikanda and Erasto Nyoni, who have been instrumental at the back-line, are also likely to be fielded.

 Yanga has Hamis Kiiza and Said Bahanuzi who will be heavily relied upon for the desired victory with captain Nadir Haroub and Kevin Yodan taking care of the defence.

Haruna Niyonzima and Athuman Iddi will marshal the mid field. Prior to the final, APR and AS Vita will fight it for the third position at 2pm. The two teams were tipped to meet in the final if their form in the semis was anything to go by.

The tournament, which started on July 14 brought together 11 clubs. Simba (Tanzania), URA (Uganda), AS Vita (DRC Congo) and Ports (Djibouti) were in pool ‘A’ while Kenya’s representatives Tusker, who were eliminated in the first round, were in pool ‘B’ with Mafunzo (Zanzibar) and Azam (Tanzania). Pool ‘C’ had Yanga (Tanzania), APR (Rwanda), El-Salam Wau (South Sudan) and Athletico (Burundi).