Yanga spoil Peter’s local debut
Flames midfielder Peter Banda’s local debut for his Tanzanian club Simba SC on Saturday ended in disappointment as his club lost 1-0 to rivals Young Africans (Yanga) at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
The former Nyasa Big Bullets midfielder was introduced as a second-half substitute in the Charity Shield which marks the start of Tanzania’s Premier League.
Yanga scored its goal in the 12th minute through Fiston Mayele after receiving a pass from Farid Mussa in the match which was live on Azam Television.
Coach Didier Gomes replaced Hassan Dilunga, Pape Sakho, Sadio Kanoute and Mohamed Hussein with John Bocco, Banda, Mzamiru Yassin and Israel Patrick.
However, Banda’s presence was not good enough to save the defending champions from
loss despite the attacking midfielder showing some flashes of brilliance.
Banda, who joined Simba from Moldovia’s Sheriff Tiraspol last month, said he was happy to feature for the Tanzania champions despite the loss.
“I thank God for the debut. We will come back stronger,” Banda said.
The match was his first local fixture after featuring for the Tanzanian outfit in international matches against TP Mazembe on Simba Day on September 25.
Soccer analyst Felix Ngamanya Sapao said though Banda played well, it was too late for the player to have an impact.
He said: “He could not have changed anything or made an impact after coming in at 60 plus minutes of the game.”
Compatriot midfielder Duncan Nyoni, who also signed for Simba SC recently, was an unused substitute.
Meanwhile, former teammate at Sheriff Tiraspol and compatriot Charles Petro was on target as the Moldova champions beat Dimano Auto 7-0 in Moldova top-flight league encounter.
Petro scored the second goal after making the first XI.
