The
Wekundu wa Msimbazi proved a hard nut to crack at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium where they defeated Egyptian and Africa champions Al Ahly 1-0, hammered AS Vita Club of the Democratic Republic of the Congo 4-1, and secured a 3-0 win against Al Merrikh of Sudan.
Away from home, their performance was also something to write home about as they opened their group-stage campaign with a 1-0 win against AS Vita in Kinshasa, drew 0-0 against Al Merrikh in Khartoum, and then lost 1-0 against Al Ahly in Cairo.
Heading into the Chiefs battle, Simba had also won nine straight matches in the Mainland Premier League plus one domestic cup fixture, but it was not the case for the Soweto giants, whose road to the last eight was not easy as they struggled to win their matches and also experienced a mixed run of results in the domestic league as they dropped to ninth on the table.
Goal after the game.
“Of course we are always taking one game at a time, and see how far we can go, Simba are a very good team and we were expecting them to come at us with high pressure, and press hard on us and there was nothing we could do but only to defend. They were worthy opponents for us, and the first leg win made the difference.
“For us, it was very important that we created a lot of chances in the first game at home and we used them and now we have won with a one-goal difference and are through to the semi-finals.”
According to Amrouche, it is at the backdrop of these results Simba travelled to Johannesburg thinking they would easily beat Chief, who were struggling in their domestic league, and they ended up taking them for granted and thus paid the price.
“The giant can sleep but can’t die, this is a story of Kaizer [Chiefs], they Simba took [Chiefs] like a weak team during the first leg and they have now paid the price,” Amrouche told
Goal on Sunday.
“Chiefs is not a team who make teams fear them in Africa, they are not constant with results but they are still a big team, they can get sick but cannot die because they have something in the team that keeps them winning and I think Simba took them easily because they thought Chiefs are not the same like before and they were punished.
Caf Champions League: Simba SC took Kaizer Chiefs for granted and paid price – Amrouche goal.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from goal.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A double from captain John Bocco and Chama’s late strike pushed Chiefs to the edge but also ensured Simba had not lost a match at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in the campaign this season.
The Zambian midfielder has said they will not rest until they get it right in the competition and has promised strong participation next year and also wished Amakhosi all the best in their semi-final contest.
“Our Champions League fairy-tale has ended today [Saturday],” Chama wrote on his social media pages. “Am proud of this team because everyone gave their best performance, but almost is never enough.