Photo Courtesy Simba SC Tanzania.
Kenyan coach Robert Matano has blasted match officials for ‘carrying’ Simba SC during their 1-1 draw against Fountain Gate in a Mainland Premier League battle on Thursday.
In the fixture at Kwaraa Stadium, the Wekundu wa Mzimbazi failed to reclaim their status at the top of the Ligi Kuu Bara table, leaving their rivals Young Africans (Yanga SC) as the new leaders, following a 1-1 draw.
A second half goal from in-form Simba striker Leonel Ateba put the visitors ahead close to the hour mark. However, an own goal from Simba young talent Ladaki Chasambi saw the visitors drop points in an embarrassing fashion.
Speaking after the game, Matano, who was taking charge of his first game since moving to the Singida-based club, hit out at the match referee for awarding Simba a "dubious" foul which resulted into the opening goal.
“The goal we conceded I cannot blame my goalkeeper, I can only blame the match referee because the foul he awarded was not warranted, I don’t expect the referee to give Simba more powers (with poor officiating), and carry a team like Simba,” Matano told Pan-Africa Football.
“They (Simba) have all the ingredients to win the league without the support from the referees and it is unfortunate that the referees are doing it against a team like Fountain Gate.”
The former Sofapaka and Tusker coach continued: “I told my players not to give up after we conceded, I told them football is played for 90 minutes, they must keep fighting and it happened that we managed to score and get a vital point from the game.”
On his game plan, Matano said: “I managed them well, I managed to close all their spaces of running because they play direct football and then deliver crosses but that is what we managed to close.
“They had no chances, we knew what to expect from their game and we worked on it, and if you check well, they delivered zero crosses and that is why we maintained them.”
The draw saw Simba drop to second on the log with 44 points, one less Yanga.
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