The outfit, popularly known as Yanga, reversed the score on Algerian side CR Belouizdad in the same manner as the former’s next-street archrivals Simba SC which once came close to turning the tables on South African hard hitters Kaizer Chiefs FC in the showdown.
The difference is that Yanga's rivals left a gap in the score and thus it was the visiting side, Kaizer Chiefs FC, that progressed, whereas Yanga added an extra goal to the 3-0 score the visiting side obtained in the away encounter.
As the Algerian side now has a chance of reaching a maximum of eight points, the head-to-head aspect favours Yanga.
A series of either lessons or parts of lessons, or new experiences, have emerged from that situation, namely Yanga returning as an outsider to the Group Stage and then inching past to the quarterfinals, behind Egyptian giants Al Ahly who qualified well ahead of others.
While the last group match for Yanga's archrivals will decide who proceeds, the Jangwani Street side managed to finish the job with a match to spare, in which case winning this round of matches over their archrivals.
What is more, the Msimbazi Street side will fight spiritedly in its last group game to join or rather equal up to their unforgiving rivals for the quarterfinal stage show.
As it is often the case in such situations, it is hardly the club’s plan to reach the quarterfinals that will be at stake, or the often emerging question of returns to investment to collect the squad, but a different issue.
The Msimbazi Street fan base and leaders will not be in a position to tolerate an underdog collaring by their rivals for more than the needed interval for the last match of the Group Stage. It will be a contested match as never before, not against the visiting side as such but to restore dignity.
This impact will not just be for the Group Stage finish and whatever happens in the quarterfinals but for the next season as well, for Msimbazi Street to come back at least to number two – now that our two slots in the CAF Champions League are again assured with Yanga’s qualification.
A qualification by Simba SC buttresses that position though it is unlikely the entrances can be increased for having had two club sides in the quarterfinals, which some countries regularly experience.
There will also be an impact on the registration period at the end of the season, as each club will have to take precautions against a situation where the archrivals make it to Group Stage and then the quarterfinals, while the other side fails in one, or both.
This situation will make the local Premier League even better despite that other countries are improving in their leagues, for instance, an unexpected show by ASEC Mimosas, Jwaneng Galaxy, and even Medeama SC against famed North African rivals.
Sides like Al Ahly, Wydad Casablanca and now CR Belouizdad lost their away matches in the sub-Saharan encounters, sending a clear signal as was the case in the African Nations Cup finals lately, that fixed ideas on who is who are not exactly applicable at the moment.
The quarterfinal potential that is evident for the city giants needs to be consolidated, as each year other sides will be improving too.
As it is clear that the city rivals are facing stiffer opposition at the Premier League level, this sphere of the contest for the Msimbazi Street side is only an addition to their other preoccupation, how to restore the image of the club to a dominant position – despite that with their next-door rivals, it can only be relative.
The issue really when third-ranked city side, Azam FC, has months of edging the Msimbazi Street bigwigs in the Premier League, implying that the latter is greying somewhere.
It will take a while to accept that but, when the going gets tough, especially with the current stage of the CAF Champions League, there will be no other way but to sign up.
In that context, it must be said that the current positioning of the city's rival sides in the CAF Champions League was altogether unexpected.
While the going has not been easy for the veteran arrivals in the quarterfinals, this was largely to be expected, the difference being that the newcomers to the Group Stage have done better than expected.
This is the push that Msimbazi Street shall now feel, added to the pressure where their Premier League expectations look bleak, playing second fiddle to their archrivals for the third year running on current expectations, to wit.
How far these pressures can be absorbed by the Premier League top sides in a fairly consistent manner so that the success of one is hardly a shaming of another is still a problem, but the outlook is good since there is a sort of rivalry in the city that is unparalleled in most African countries.
The Jangwani-Msimbazi rivalry is one of its kind, as it is less a city rival as is often the case elsewhere but a national rivalry, where other club loyalties become an auxiliary feature of the loyalty base virtually for each individual.
With investments rising in other Premier League sides and their ability to control either of the city giants and this season this is more noticeable for the Msimbazi Street side, it follows that some hefty investment decisions will have to be made, like drawing out Fiston Mayele on loan basis, etc.
Tanzania's Yanga midfielder Pacôme Zouzoua (R) dribbles past Algeria's CR Belouizdad counterpart, Housseyn Selmi, as the teams took on each other in a 2023/24 CAF Champions League Group D tie that took place in Dar es Salaam on Saturday and climaxed in 4-0 victory for the former. PHOTO: COURTESY OF YANGA
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