Community Shield: Simba SC not tensed facing rivals Young Africans – Davids

Simba SC head coach Fadlu Davids has revealed their readiness to face rivals Young Africans (Yanga SC) in the season opener dubbed Community Shield at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on Tuesday.

Yanga, who clinched a domestic double last season – the Premier League and Federation Cup – will come up against Msimbazi Reds by virtue of the latter finishing second behind them in the league triumph.

“The derby, yes, Yanga deserved to win, but before the goal we conceded before the penalty, we had two big moments to score, you know derbies are decided by moments, had we scored the first goal in the derby it could have been a different game, but I accepted that Yanga was better, but the previous two derbies were better,” Davids told Pan-Africa Football.

“This big games are not always decided by the team that plays better, but with the team with the right mentality, my players are looking ready for the derby, we don’t have any tension heading into the game.

‘I am excited to take on the derby’

“The fans experienced 60, 000 fans during the Simba Day which was a good test, it was a good test for me to see which players can perform and I was quite surprised, and happy with the new players, how they adapted, how they handled the pressure of the crowd, and I am quite excited to take on the derby with new energy, and new fresh input from the players that have joined.”

He added: “I’m quite excited, quite confident to be part of this derby and face Yanga again, it is a big challenge because when I joined it was three years of dominance by Yanga, and you know I keep challenging my players to rise to the occasion, because it was Yanga for the past four years, but it was Simba for four years before that.”

Since joining Simba, the South African coach has managed to beat Yanga once in three attempts. He lost the first meeting in charge 1-0, recovered to win the second meeting 1-0 before losing the third game 2-0.

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