Mariga to miss Stars Clash against BafanaBafana as 2 Tanzanian great teams draw

By Fred Maingi
Patrick “Armando”Osiako will replace injured MacDonald Mariga who will not be available ahead of  Harambee Stars international friendly against South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.The match is  set for 16th October at Nyayo Stadium.
Football Kenya Football(FKF) head of technical Elly Mukolwe said after careful  consideration, they had decided to settle  with Otsiako who has similar qualities like Mariga. Osiako plays  for Israel based Hapeol Be’er Sheva.
Otsiako who is on a two-year deal is expected to link up with the team at the 60,000 seater Moi Sports centre (MISC) Kasarani training camp next week.
 Mukolwe said Mariga was still recovering after being out of action  for several months.’We must respect his wish.He told  us  he was still unfit for a competitive match.We thank him for being frank to us.Initially, we though he was in great shape  following media reports that he had resumed training with his Club” said Mukolwe.
    He described Otsiako as a good replacement adding that he will fit Mariga’s shoes adequately.
  The match  against Bafana Bafana will count in the Fifa  rankings that will reflect during next month world ratings.FKF have taken the friendly match seriously by recalling all their best players both locally and Internationally led by Captain Dennis Oliech.
   Harambee  Stars new coach Henri Michel  will use the high profile friendly match to sharpen his newly assembled  squad  for future matches.
Kenya lost 2-0 during the last friendly encounter staged early last year in Rustenburg,South Africa under coach Zedekiah ‘Zico’Otieno..
Kenya will also  use the friendly as part of CHAN and Cecafa preparations while Bafana Bafana will use this as build up to African Cup of Nations since they have automatically qualified as hosts.

And The mouth-watering clash pitting Tanzania soccer giants  Simba Sports  Club and Dar Young Africans(Yanga) ended in a 1-1 draw  at the Dar es salaam National Stadium on Wednesday night.

  For the  first time , the tie  well officiated by Mathew Akrama from Mwanza was staged under floodlights.

  Simba  took the lead barely after five minutes through Amri Kiemba who slammed home Mwinyi Kazimoto ‘s  cross to send  their fans to raptures.

     Yanga required Said Bahanuzi spot kick  in the 66^th minute to level the score  following a defensive mistake by Simba  SC defender Jonas Mkude who handled the ball in his attempt to clear  the ball

    Yanga  later suffered a massive  blow in the 80^th min  after they were reduced to 10 men.Simon Msuva was send off for cheating a fall.

Yanga celebrated a draw to settle to the fifth place with five points as Simba are still on the driving seat with 13 points.It was Amri Kiemba, who connected home a cross by Mwinyi Kazimoto four minutes after a whistle for the Simba crowd to go wild.

Despite the goal, Yanga, who succumbed to a humiliating 5-0 defeat to Simba in their previous assignment, remained calm and opted for short pieces in their attempt to level matters before the sunset.

The two-sides opted for a 4,3,3-formation with Yanga depending on firepower from strikers, Haruna Niyonzima and Ugandan Hamis Kiiza and dominated part of the midfield marshalled by Athuman Idd’Chuji.

Simba solely depended on the roving striker, Mrisho Ngasa, with a blow for failure by their goal getter Ugandan Emmanuel Okwi to play for serving a red card.

Teams:
Yanga: Yaw Berko, Mbuyu Twite, Stephano Mwasika, Nadir Haroun, Kelvin Yondani,Athuman Iddi ‘Chuji’, Nizar Khalfan, Haruna Niyonzima Hamis Kiiza and Simon Msuva.

Simba: Juma Kaseja, Nassoro Masoud, Paul Ngalema,Juma Nyoso, Shomari Kapombe, Jonas Mkude, Amri Kiemba, Mwinyi Kazimoto, Felix Sunzu, Edward Christopher and Mrisho Ngasa.