Friday, 26 February 2016

League Title Goes Down the Wire

WITH three giants locked at the top and five others on each throats to escape relegation, the chase for the Vodacom Premier League (VPL) title has become
unbearably tough for the giants.
Holders Young Africans are narrowly leading the chase with 46 points the same as the second-placed Azam, but superior goal average puts the former slightly ahead.
Simba, who lost sight of the front runners in the early rounds of the league, are breathing fire an inch behind their Dar es Salaam rivals with 45 points, a situation that makes the title chase a cut-throat affair.
Despite losing to their traditional rivals on Saturday, Simba's Ugandan coach Jackson Mayanja was the star of the early second leg after leading his charges to command seven straight wins.
His arrival also boosted the performances of Uganda striker, Hamisi Kiiza and Ibrahim Ajib, a youth whose season start came with a hat-trick. But the situation is not the same for the fourth placed Mtibwa Sugar, who previously enjoyed the third position going too close to the leaders, Yanga and Azam in point hauling. At the end of the 20th round, Mtibwa Sugar have garnered 33 points, 12 points adrift.
WITH three giants locked at the top and five others on each throats to escape relegation, the chase for the Vodacom Premier League (VPL) title has become unbearably tough for the giants.
Holders Young Africans are narrowly leading the chase with 46 points the same as the second-placed Azam, but superior goal average puts the former slightly ahead.
Simba, who lost sight of the front runners in the early rounds of the league, are breathing fire an inch behind their Dar es Salaam rivals with 45 points, a situation that makes the title chase a cut-throat affair.
Despite losing to their traditional rivals on Saturday, Simba's Ugandan coach Jackson Mayanja was the star of the early second leg after leading his charges to command seven straight wins.
His arrival also boosted the performances of Uganda striker, Hamisi Kiiza and Ibrahim Ajib, a youth whose season start came with a hat-trick. But the situation is not the same for the fourth placed Mtibwa Sugar, who previously enjoyed the third position going too close to the leaders, Yanga and Azam in point hauling. At the end of the 20th round, Mtibwa Sugar have garnered 33 points, 12 points adrift.
Tanga region has been the most unfortunate in the league's title chase. All its three teams are placed at the danger zone with African Sports and Coastal Union being at the worst situation.
Though it is JKT Ruvu who are bottom-placed with 15 points, 19 goals and 39 goals against, the 15th placed African Sports have the lowest scoring ability after seeing the net only seven times. It is the only team that scored a single digit number.
Coastal Union are placed 14th with 16 points 13 goals for and 22 goals against while Kagera Sugar are 13th with 17 points and Mgambo JKT, also from Tanga are standing at 12th position. Mwadui, under coach Jamhuri Kihwelu, are the most successful league newcomers. Promoted this season, Mwadui are fifth with 32 points, after playing 20 matches.
They have netted 21 goals while conceding 17 goals. Mwadui, once the soccer giants in 1970s, declined in the 1990s alongside the Lake Zone giants Pamba and Lake Star. Mwadui and their neighbours Stand United are doing fairly well in the league, but both are far from the league title though are not threatened by relegation.
Tanzania Prisons who held Azam to a barren draw on Wednesday are sixth placed with 32 points. Seventh are Stand United with 30 points, but they have left far the eighth-placed Ndanda FC with eighth 23 points.
Tanzania Prisons at the end of the 20th round was the top-placed Southern Highland team as others Mbeya City and Majimaji are placed 10th and 11th respectively.
Though he didn't score in the Saturday's Dar es Salaam derby, Simba's Ugandan import, Hamis Kiiza continued to lead a chase for the golden boot with 16 goals. His closest challenger, Amis Tambwe from rivals, Young Africans is second-placed with 15 goals.
Yanga's Zimbabwean import, Donald Ngoma is third with 11 goals while Kipre Tchetche, Jeremia Mgunda and Elias Maguli have tied at the fifth position with ten goals each.

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