Donald Lukele
Two goals allowed by Simba the day before yesterday at Majaliwa Stadium, Ruangwa in Lindi region, have set a record for the team of allowing the most goals in their goal net for the first time in nine seasons.
In that Premier League match, Simba drew 2-2 against Namungo FC, putting themselves in a difficult position to play in the Champions League next season.
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The team has allowed 23 goals so far in the 22 matches they have played, which is the worst record ever in their Premier League matches in the past nine seasons.
The last time they allowed so many goals was in the 2013/14 season when they finished the league having conceded 27 goals in 26 games played throughout the season with 14 teams participating in the league at that time.
This goal count could be reached or broken as the team continues to play its league matches, with eight matches remaining and statistics showing they only need five more goals to break that record of that season of allowing the most goals.
Records show that the team has had an average of conceding one goal in each match so far as the league is nearing its end, similar to the 2013/2014 season.
In the season following 2013/2014, Simba allowed 19 goals in 26 matches played, while the following season of 2015/2016 saw them concede 17 goals in 30 matches.
The average of conceding goals in their net continued to decrease, with the 2017/18 season allowing only 15 goals in 30 matches played, while in the 2018/19 season, Simba allowed 15 goals in 38 matches played throughout the entire season, with the league involving 20 teams that season.
In the 2019/20 season, they allowed 21 goals in the net, playing 38 matches, and in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons, they allowed 14 and 17 goals, respectively.
These statistics show that the team, currently under the Interim Head Coach, Juma Mgunda, has been weak in the defense line this season.
After the match against Namungo FC, Mgunda admitted to significant shortcomings in the team.
“There is work to be done in the defense line; we are allowing easy goals, defenders have been making mistakes, they lack communication, and you can see even the goal we conceded against Namungo to equalize,” said Mgunda, adding,
“It hurts, it affects, but football is always a ruthless game, so we have to accept it, we also learned something, we will sit down to reflect on what happened, we must put things right, the defense line must be strong,” said Mgunda, whose match was his first, after the departure of the former Head Coach, Abdelhak Benchikha, an Algerian national.
With these results, Simba remains in third place, with 47 points, threatening their participation in the Champions League where they have been participating continuously for seven seasons.
To play in the Champions League, Simba will have to win all their remaining matches, including against Azam FC, on May 9.
With the current standings and remaining matches, if Simba wins all their remaining matches (including against Azam FC), they will reach 71 points, and if Azam wins all their matches (including against Simba), they will reach 72 points.
