Azam FC assistant coach Vivier Bahati has stated they are prepared to end the dominance of Simba SC and Young Africans (Yanga SC) in the Mainland Premier League.
The Chamazi-giants continued with their perfect start to the season after they managed to beat promoted side Ihefu FC 2-0 in their seventh straight win to reach 21 points and stay at the top of the table.
The latest win also saw Azam break their own record they set in the 2015/16 season when they won six straight matches before Yanga forced them to a 1-1 draw in their seventh match.
The result in Sokoine has left Azam believing they can go all the way and wrestle the title from Simba and also end their dominance, which has seen them win four straight league titles.
“We set a target to go for the title this season, and when you set a target it means you have to win your matches all around, it doesn’t matter where you play, all you need is to go there and get the points, and so far so good, we have started well, we have won seven of our matches,” Bahati told reporters after the match against Ihefu.
“We want to change a story, we always have Simba and Yanga winning the league, all the time it is Simba and Yanga winning, but now we have to change the story and write another story by winning the trophy this season.”
The club’s Information Officer Thabit Zakaria said they are impressed with how they have started the season but added they are not 100 percent at the level they want to be.
“We are okay, at least we have done 80 percent of what we wanted to achieve so far, we wanted to win our matches and we have won all our matches, only what we have lacked are goals, we have been winning by slim wins, but still it is a good start,” Zakaria told reporters.
“The good thing is we are moving up, we are getting maximum points, all we need are points, and soon the team will also start scoring goals, we are now leading the table and want to keep the position as much as we can.”
In the 2015/16 season, Azam started with a 2-1 win against Tanzania Prisons, won 2-0 against Stand United, beat Mwadui FC 1-0, edged out Mbeya City 2-1, won 2-0 against Coastal Union, 1-0 against Mtibwa Sugar and also drew 1-1 against Yanga SC.
In the current season, Azam started with a 1-0 win against Polisi Tanzania, beat Coastal Union 2-0, won 1-0 against Mbeya city, edged out Tanzania Prisons 1-0, thrashed Kagera Sugar 4-2, won 3-0 against Mwadui before beating promoted side Ihefu FC 2-0.
In the 2015/16 season, Azam were under Briton coach Stewart Hall, and he managed to win six straight matches and also went 18 matches unbeaten.