Bocco sends apology to Simba SC fans after two consecutive defeats

Simba SC captain John Bocco has sent an apology to the club’s fans after the team suffered a second straight Mainland Premier League defeat on Monday.

The Wekundu wa Msimbazi went down 1-0 to Ruvu Shooting in a match played at Uhuru Stadium and this came only three days after they had suffered another 1-0 defeat against Tanzania Prisons.

The results have seen Simba drop the pace in their chase to retain the title with rivals Young Africans (Yanga SC) overtaking them to position two, while Simba are now in fourth.

Bocco, who was making a return to the team after an injury, and also missed a crucial penalty with ten minutes left to the final whistle against Ruvu Shooting, has now apologized to the fans and promised a better performance in their next league assignment.

“On behalf of the players, I want to apologise for the two defeats we suffered against Prisons and Ruvu Shooting,” Bocco said as quoted by the club’s social media pages. “We fell against teams that we should not have but we promise it will not happen again.

“Our promise to the fans is that we will rectify mistakes from the two matches and come back better and stronger to win the coming games.”

Prior to Monday's meeting, Simba and Ruvu Shooting had met 18 times in all competitions and Wekundu wa Msimbazi had managed to win 16 games, drawing the remaining two.

Coach Sven Vandenbroeck tinkered with his squad, giving Beno Kakolanya and Francis Kahata a chance. Bernard Morrison, the returning John Bocco, and Aishi Manula were the players who started on the bench.

However, Ruvu took a deserved lead when Fully Zulu Maganga, who made no mistake from three yards, sent his team into the break with a deserving lead.

Simba were given a lifeline in the 80th minute when they were awarded a penalty after foul play by their opponents in the danger zone but Bocco, who had been introduced, took it and despite beating the goalkeeper, he could not beat the crossbar.

Following the defeat, the Msimbazi-based charges dropped to fourth on the table with 13 points after seven matches. They have managed to collect four wins, a draw, and two losses.

Azam FC, who also fell by a solitary goal to Mtibwa Sugar, lead the race with 21 points from eight games. They are followed by Young Africans SC (Yanga SC) who have not lost any games this season.

After seven matches, they have managed to get six wins and a draw to take their points tally to 19. Biashara Mara United are third with 16 points.