Eymael: Yanga SC coach congratulates Simba SC, reveals why they retained title

Young Africans (Yanga SC) coach Luc Eymael has revealed why Simba SC were crowned Mainland Premier League champions on Sunday.

The Wekundu wa Mzimbazi needed just a point to ensure they kept the league title and their performance at Sokoine Stadium in Mbeya against Tanzania Prisons gave them just that even though the hosts gave an equally brave fight to keep the champions at bay.

The Belgian coach has now congratulated Simba for winning the title and said they achieved the fete because they were the most consistent side in the top-flight in this campaign.

“I want to congratulate them for winning the league, I am a guy who loves fair play and I think I have to congratulate them for the latest fete,” Eymael told Goal on Monday.

“The difference between Simba and Yanga on the league table was already too big when I arrived, I think Yanga was number six when I arrived to take over but already moving from number six to two is not bad but Simba also deserved to win the crown because they were the most consistent side in the league.”

Asked on whether he will plan to give Simba a proper challenge in the new season, Eymael said: “I am not talking about that, for now, I am thinking first of all to finish the league as high as possible and we must make sure we keep second position to the end and also on Tuesday we have a domestic Cup fixture and our target is to reach the semi-final.

“One game at a time is the solution, each game as its own story and it is very important to tackle the matches a game at a time, we don’t want to start thinking about next season when we still have matches to play.”

It is the first league title for Belgian coach Sven Vandenbroeck who arrived in December 2019 to take charge of the second most successful Tanzanian club. The successful outing will also mean Simba have maintained their slot in the Caf Champions League competition.

The league victory underlines Simba and Yanga's dominance in the Tanzanian competition in the last decade. 

Timu ya Wananchi have won the league five times while Wekundu wa Msimbazi had clinched it four times in the last 10 seasons.

Simba's three successful consecutive campaigns, in the 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons have matched Yanga's record achieved in the 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons.