By Our Special Correspondent
Young Africans will face Azam in the finals of the 2024 Community Shield after defeating Simba 1-0 at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Thursday evening.
A first half strike by Maxi Nzengeli in the 44th minute was enough to steer Yanga into the finishing line of the competition getting the better of their traditional rivals.
Despite showing remarkable resilience, Simba could not manage to come back into the thrilling encounter hence surrendering the Community Shield title they won last season.
Credit to Miguel Gamondi's charges for playing their cards well throughout the tense 90 minutes of play as they diffused all attacking options made by their long term rivals.
This is therefore the first major defeat by Simba coach Fadlu Davids who prior to the match admitted that the encounter was a good test for his side ahead of next season.
Before facing Yanga, Simba had won all their four pre-season matches but could not replicate the same performance against the defending Premier League champions.
Meanwhile, Azam outclassed Coastal Union 5-2 at New Amaan Sports Complex in Zanzibar in an early Community Shield kick-off.
Azam secured their goals from Gibril Sillah, Feisal Salum, Jhonier Blanco, Adam Adam and Ever Meza who was introduced into the second half of the game.
For Coastal Union, they hunted their goals from Semfuko Charles and Abdallah Hassan but it was not enough to help the Tanga based club cruise into the last phase of the competition.
However, Simba will face Coastal Union in the third place finish in an early game to be played at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on Sunday.