Niyonzima: Yanga SC still top of the table and will not give up Tanzanian league title

Yanga SC midfielder Haruna Niyonzima has stated the team is still aiming at the Mainland Premier League title.

The Jangwani giants finally returned to winning ways after three matches after they registered a 1-0 win against Biashara United at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on Saturday with Burkina Faso striker Yacouba Songne notching the all-important goal.

The win saw Yanga stretch their lead at the summit of the 18-team table as they have accumulated 54 points from 24 matches, four more than second-placed Azam FC, who have played 26 matches while champions Simba SC are third on 49 points from 21 matches.

The Rwandan star has told Goal the most important thing for the team is that they are still topping the table and that in every game they play, their eyes are looking at the title and they will not give up their push to be crowned champions in this campaign.

“I believe we are still topping the table and if the authorities say today the league has ended, we will still be at the top of the table, so we are still topping the table and our main aim is to make sure we win our matches so we can achieve the targets we set when the season started,” Niyonzima told Goal on Sunday.

“We have targets we set when the season started and we know everything is possible, we all want to keep believing in God because we are confident everything is possible, we will not give up, we will continue to play with our eyes on the title.”

On the team’s missed chances against Biashara, the 28-year-old midfielder said: “We better create chances and fail to score than to fail to create them, I always believe to score sometimes needs luck but there is nothing better than creating chances, so now we want to go and work on why we create chances and don’t convert them into goals.”

In a previous interview, Yanga interim coach Juma Mwambusi was delighted with his charges for rectifying some of their earlier mistakes and defeating Biashara United.

“The league had taken a break and it was like another transition period for us at the club,” Mwambusi told Goal afterward.

“It is what many did not understand and they complained after we drew [against KMC] which was not our expectation. Dropping points was a wake-up call for us, we had to go and rectify [against Biashara] by playing as a team and displaying beautiful football for our fans.

“As promised, from the first whistle, we pushed for goals, we were just attacking and it helped us create many scoring opportunities. Many chances came our way but we capitalised on one and I am grateful for that.”

Yanga will next face Gwambina FC on April 20 at Mkapa Stadium.