‘Simba SC have lost battle but not the war’ – Dewji after Kaizer Chiefs humiliation

Simba SC chairman Mohammed Dewji has stated they will fight using all means at their disposal to overturn the 4-0 defeat suffered against Kaizer Chiefs in the Caf Champions League on Saturday.

The Msimbazi giants went into the match at FNB Stadium with a good record from the group stage but Amakhosi used their home advantage well to win the first leg contest and put one leg in the semi-finals of the competition.

Goals from Samir Nurkovic (a brace), Erick Mathoho, and Leonardo Castro inspired Amakhosi to a well-deserved win which saw the Soweto giants maintain their unbeaten home record in this season's Champions League. 

But despite the humiliating defeat which will require Simba to beat Chiefs by a huge margin to advance, the Mainland Premier League champions' owner Dewji has maintained they have only lost the battle but the war will be fought in Tanzania, when the two sides meet in the return leg at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam on May 22.

“We have lost the battle, but not the war,” Dewji wrote on his Twitter handle. “We will keep on fighting with our blood, sweat, and tears to live another day.”

Chiefs got off to the perfect start as they broke the deadlock through Mathoho, who marked his return to the starting line-up with a goal just six minutes into the match.

Nurkovic flicked a well-taken corner-kick from Bernard Parker and Mathoho headed past Simba goalkeeper Aishi Manula to hand Chiefs a 1-0 lead and it was his third goal in this season's Champions League.

Chief then doubled their lead four minutes after the half-hour mark as Frosler's delightful cross was headed home by Nurkovic, who netted his first goal in the Champions League, to hand Chiefs a 2-0 lead heading into the half-time break.

The Reds of Msimbazi looked to pull one back after the restart, but their defence looked shaky whenever the visitors were forced to defend against the likes of Lebogang Manyama, Nurkovic, and Castro.

Nurkovic pounced and scored with a brilliant volley to make it 3-0 to Chiefs after Simba defender Mohammed Husseini had mistakenly headed the ball into his path three minutes before the hour-mark, and it was soon 4-0 to Chiefs in the 63rd minute when Castro hit the back of the net with a diving header to extend the four-time PSL champions' lead.

Simba will now face a tall order to overturn the deficit when the two sides meet again in the return leg next weekend and keep their dream of winning the trophy this campaign alive.