Simba SC got off to a rough start in the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup (CAFCC) final, suffering a 2-0 defeat to Moroccan side RS Berkane on Sunday night.
The match, played at RS Berkane's home ground in Morocco, saw the hosts take early control of the game. RS Berkane opened the scoring in the 8th minute through Mamadou Camara, who capitalized on Simba's defensive lapse.
Just seven minutes later, Oussama Lamlaoui doubled the lead with a well-taken strike, giving Berkane a comfortable 2-0 cushion within the first 15 minutes.
Simba struggled to recover from the early setback. The first half ended with the Tanzanian giants trailing 2-0, despite showing glimpses of attacking intent.
In the second half, Simba returned with renewed determination, trying to push forward and tighten their defense. While they managed to prevent further goals, they couldn’t find the back of the net themselves.
RS Berkane continued to apply pressure in search of a third goal, but neither side managed to score in the final 45 minutes.
The match ended 2-0 in favor of the Moroccan outfit, giving them a crucial advantage heading into the second leg.
Speaking after the match, Simba Head Coach Fadlu Davids admitted that the pressure of playing in a continental final affected his young squad.
“The occasion got to us. Many of our players are still young, and the pressure of a final was evident in our performance,” said Davids.
He remained optimistic about Simba’s chances in the return leg at home.
“We’ll go back to training and work on the mistakes we made today. We believe we can come back stronger in Dar es Salaam and overturn the result. Our goal is to win and lift the trophy.”
Coach Davids also emphasized the importance of playing in front of their home fans.
“We’re prepared to play here in Berkane, but we hope to be granted the right to use our home ground for the return leg, instead of a neutral venue,” he added.
“Simba are a different team at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, especially with the backing of 60,000 passionate fans.”he added
RS Berkane:Monir El Kajoui, Issoufou Dayo, Mamadou Camara, Ayoub Khari, Oussama Lamlaoui, Adil Tahif, Abdelhak Assal, Vassine Lebhiri, Imad Riahi, Hamza El Moussaoui.
Simba SC:Moussa Camara, Karaboue Chamdu, Fabrice Ngoma, Jean Ahoua, Leonel Ateba, Shomari Kapombe, Abdulrazak Hamza, Mohamed Hussein, Yusuph Kagoma, Elie Mpanzu, Kibu Denis.