Ihefu SC coach rues loss of concentration after defeat to Simba SC

12Apr 2023
Michael Mwebe
Sport
The Guardian
Ihefu SC coach rues loss of concentration after defeat to Simba SC

​​​​​​​IHEFU SC assistant coach Zubeir Katwila acknowledged that sloppy mistakes at the back cost his team three points in a 2022/23 NBC Premier League game against Simba SC played at Highland Estate Stadium in Mbarali, Mbeya on Monday afternoon.

A second-half brace by Congolese striker Jean Baleke in the last ten minutes of the normal time condemned Ihefu SC to a 2-0 home defeat.

Baleke broke the deadlock in the 84th minute when he quickly reacted to control a spilled ball and shot through the legs of Juma Nyoso.

Three minutes later, Baleke put the game beyond Ihefu SC’s reach when once again he was quick to follow up on his rebound header with a well-connected bicycle kick to register his seventh NBC Premier League goal of the season. It was also his fifth goal in back-to-back games against Ihefu SC.

Ihefu SC had managed to keep Simba SC at bay in the first before succumbing to a late second-half onslaught, but Katwila opted against deriding his team’s mistakes, instead pointing out the good performance they enjoyed and were only undone by forced mistakes as a result of losing concentration in the last minutes.

Katwila disclosed: “The game was good and technical, we tried to reduce the mistakes of the previous Federation Cup game. We were able to do that and as you can see it is only in the last few minutes we conceded those goals after losing concentration in the game.”

The tactician noted: “The players lost concentration due to one way or another. It is something that can happen to any human being.”

“If you are forced to make a mistake then you can do it but it is not by your wish as a player. No player can make mistakes like that without being forced to,” he pointed out.

With the results, Ihefu SC has dropped one place to seventh position on the 16-team NBC Premier League table with 33 points from 26 matches.

With only four games to go, they are six points away from the relegation zone and are almost guaranteed to keep their top-flight status for next season.

On Friday last week, Ihefu SC was humbled 5-1 by Simba SC in the Azam Sports Federation Cup quarterfinals match in Dar es Salaam, with Baleke being the former’s chief tormentor with a hat trick to his name on the day.

Ihefu SC will make the trip to Kilimanjaro to face relegation-threatened Polisi Tanzania for the next Premier League assignment on April 21. 

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