
Photo Courtesy Simba SC Media.
Simba SC forward Leonel Ateba has revealed why the Tanzanian Mainland Premier League giants managed to seal their quarter-final spot in the Caf Confederation Cup.
The Wekundu wa Msimbazi qualified for the last sixteen after a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Bravos do Maquis at the 11 de Novembro Stadium in Talatona, Angola on Sunday.
The outcome of the game enabled Simba to reach 10 points, placing them in second position in Group A, just behind CS Constantine, who claimed a 3-0 victory over CS Sfaxien in their match to garner 12 points.
Bravo, who sit in third place with seven points, took an early lead in the 14th minute when Abednego Mosiatlhaga reached out to a poor back pass from Che Fondoh Malone to stab the ball past goalkeeper Moussa Camara.
However, Simba never gave up as they continued to search for a leveller and their efforts were rewarded in the 69th minute when Shomari Kapombe set up Cameroonian Ateba, who smashed home to make it 1-1.
“I am very happy because today I scored a very important goal, we have managed to beat Bravo and qualify for the quarter-finals, very happy because we played a very good game, and I thank all my teammates, the technical staff for making this to happen,” Ateba told Pan-Africa Football.
“It was not easy when we conceded first, remember we were playing away from home and conceding first in a CAF match makes things difficult for you but we are a very good team, a very good team because we managed to keep the focus and the composure to get the equaliser.”
Ateba concluded: “We have managed this qualification because of togetherness, we couldn’t have achieved it if Simba was not a family, we did it for the Simba fans and we urge them to come up in large numbers and support us during the final group game.”
Simba will now host Constantine at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on Sunday, January 19 seeking a win to top the group.
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