Why Barker is unhappy with Simba SC despite Coastal Union win

Simba SC head coach Steve Barker was satisfied with the level of the team during their Mainland Premier League fixture against Coastal Union but says he was not happy with the situation of losing the ball frequently especially in the first half as well as the use of chances they created.

The Msimbazi Reds extended their league unbeaten run to ten matches on Thursday in Tanzania’s NBC Premier League with a 2-0 victory over Coastal Union.

 

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First half goals from Suleman Mwalimu and former Stellenbosch FC star Ismael Touré were more than enough for Simba to secure victory at the Major General Isamuhyo Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

‘I was a little bit not happy in first half’

“Whenever you win a game, you have to be happy with the result, it’s obviously good keeping a clean sheet, and not a single shot on target, so, we controlled the majority of the game, and in that respect I’am very happy with that performance,” Barker told Pan-Africa Football.

“However, I was a little bit not happy in terms of performance especially in first half, we were a little bit loose in losing the ball, I think we could have been better in possession, so, we gave the ball unnecessary away which made us to recover, which takes a lot of energy out of the players.

“I wasn’t happy just with the ball retention in the first half, but we created enough chances, it could have been possibly four, five goals. So, again from that part of it, we have to be more clinical, you know when you have a 2-0 goal lead, the opposition can score a goal 20 minutes to go, and all the momentum swings again.

“It is an area we have to improve, in terms of the chances we created we have to be taking more of them.”

Asked on any other area he wants Simba to improve, Barker responded: “Look, as I said we have to make sure, we are a team that wants to have the ball, and we are a team that want to control matches, and make sure we are not sloppy in ball possession.

“Our focus has to be on that, and then obviously our finishing has to be better.”

Simba were technically the better side

Coastal Union coach Moihamed Muya, discussed the final decisions of his players (final passes), explaining the technical changes he made in the second half were still not good enough to hand them something from the game against a strong Simba side.

“We had a lot of chances to reach 18 area, we attempted a lot, first and second half, but the difference between the two teams made the difference, Simba is much better with experience, and we lost the game,” said Muya after the game.

“We never valued our moments that we created, did everything to attack Simba, we had a lot of chances and we must thank the Simba defence because they made a lot of stops, they denied us to threaten their goalkeeper.”

“In the second half we tried to change the game, our game plan, but it still didn’t work, we must admit Simba read our game very well. I am sorry to our fans for this defeat, I am sorry to management for this defeat, we now have to return and prepare for the next game.”

The result moved Simba back into second place, four points behind rivals and leaders Young Africans with one game in hand.

Next up for Simba is a massive test in the Mzizima Derby on Sunday against Azam FC. Azam are only two points back of Sunday’s opponents in third place and will have an opportunity to establish themselves as title contenders.