SIMBA sent out a hugely emphatic message to Mainland Premier League title challengers as they thrashed sorry Ndanda FC, winning 2-0 at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

A delicious strike from Francis Kahata in the first half and a cheeky second half finish by Deo Kanda saw the Msimbazi Reds go ten points clear at the top of the table.

The victory saw the defending champions strengthening their grip of the top position after collecting 34 points from 13 games.

Their close competitors and traditional rivals Young Africans, are settled in the second position with 24 points from 11 outings.

It was massive boost for Simba as they lie in wait to face Yanga in the derby clash at the same venue on Saturday.

It will be tough duel as Yanga will also come into the match fresh from their 1-0 win over Biashara United at the same venue on Monday.

In the match yesterday, Sven Vandenbroeck charges could have scored more as they lacked composure in the final third for large parts of the game.

However, Vandenbroeck has maintained his 100 per cent performance since taking charge of the team from Belgian compatriot Patrick Aussems.

Simba has not conceded a single goal in their four competitive matches and have managed to score 14 goals in the process.

Vandenbroeck started his tenure at the club by thrashing Arusha FC 6-0 in the Azam Sports Federation Cup (ASFC) at Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam, before punishing Lipuli FC 4-0 as well as KMC and Ndanda 2-0 respectively in the Mainland Premier League matches.

They produced their most complete performance of the season so far, dominating the possession from start to finish. It’s no exaggeration that Ndanda could have been 5-0 down inside the first 30 minutes.

Simba started with slick movements, knocking the ball from side to side.

And, just six minutes from the kickoff, skipper John Bocco, who returned after a long spell out of injury headed wide a nice pass from Ibrahim Ajib.

Simba continued to press hard for an early opener as the visitors sat deep on their zone siphoning attack from attack.

In the 11th minute, Simba won a set piece at the edge of the box after Sharraf Shiboub was bundled down.

Francis Kahata stepped up and powered the ball into the back of the net on the left of goalkeeper, Ally Mustapha. Simba stepped the tempo and Ibrahim Ajib fired a swerving shot straight at keeper after 17 minutes.

He stung keeper Mustapha with a powerful shot to an abortive corner kick.

In the 19th minute, Said Ndemla, who had an impressive game failed to make contact with a cut back pass from Ajib. Two minutes later, Ajib was wasteful in front of goal, firing narrowly wide.

After half an hour mark, left wing back Gadiel Michael’s shot narrowly sailed over the cross bar and a minute before the interval, Ndemla forced Mustapha to a full stretch, to parry off a powerful short to a corner kick.

After the break, it was a slow start from both sides but Simba maintained their dominance, keeping possession but still, wasteful.

Deo Kanda replaced Kahata and then Muzamiru Yassin came in for Jonas Mkude as Simba were seeking for more pace and cutting edge upfront.

In the 73rd minute, Gadiel Michael stung Mustapha’s gloves with a fierce shot.

Then, Simba introduced Clatous Chama for Ajib and in the 85th minute Kanda scored with a cheeky finish past keeper Mustapha.

Gadiel Michael’s cross took a slight deflection off a defender and the ball found Kanda in space to easily score. Referee ignored heavy penalty shout from Simba as Kanda appeared to have been fouled inside the box.

Then Ndemla blazed a clear chance away.

It was one way traffic and Gadiel stung keeper again and no Simba player was lurking in the area to finish off the drop ball.