Simba SC consolidated their place at the top of Group A in the CAF Champions League with a 0-0 draw away to Al Merrikh in Omdurman on Saturday afternoon.
The clash at the Al Hilal Stadium saw the Tanzanian visitors endure a frustrating day as they struggled to break down the Sudanese hosts, who record a first point in the pool but remain bottom of the log. Simba, meanwhile, are top with seven points – four clear of Al Ahly and AS Vita, who meet in Cairo on Saturday night.
Merrikh suffered an early injury blow when defender Hamza Dawood suffered a knock and could not continue, leading to the introduction of Ramadan Ajab off the bench inside the opening quarter hour.
Simba bossed possession but struggled to create scoring chances for the likes of Luis Miquissone and Chris Mugalu, while the hosts soon threatened a goal against the run of play thanks to an excellent corner kick delivery from Ahdam Mohammad on the half hour mark which caused all kinds of panic in the visitors’ defence.
The half ended 0-0, with neither team having created any clear scoring chances, though the Tanzanian visitors had certainly enjoyed more of the ball and were showing patience in trying to unpick the Red Devils’ defence.
Simba had an early chance to break the deadlock soon after the restart in the second stanza, but Cletus Chama’s effort direct from a free kick flashed wide of the home side’s goal – much to the relief of goalkeeper Monged Abuzaid.
Merrikh created a couple of half chances through the second half, but struggled to test Simba goalkeeper Benno David Kakolanya, while Simba continued to see most of the ball possession but found an attacking rhythm hard to come by.
Ultimately both Merrikh and Simba were forced to settle for a share of the spoils, with the game ending in a tame stalemate. The teams are scheduled to meet again on Tuesday 16 March in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
TEAMS
Merrikh: Abuzaid, Dawood (Ajab 12’), Mohamed, Khamis, Bakhit, Elnour, Alla, A. Mohammad, Mattocks (Noah 69’), Edjomariegwe, Hassan
Simba: Kakolanya, Kapombe, Wawa, Onyango, Husseini, Chama, Yassin, Lwanga, Miquissone, Mugalu, Bwalya.
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