It was later reported that Simba opted out of the race to sign him when he was injured during a training session with the national team. As Simba s interest waned, Yanga came along to enquire about his availability and started talks that reached an advanced stage.
When Simba learnt of Yanga s move, it is said they rekindled their interest, although Timu ya Mwananchi, under the watchful eye of Hersi Said - who usually leads the club s transfer deals - had been in direct contact with Shaaban.
Mwanaspoti reports a Simba official, who is close to chairman Mo Dewji and who sits on the board, has made numerous calls to AS Vita to find out how far Yanga have gone in their talks.
The Burundian has now explained his players never gave up despite going down in the opening minutes and that the use of dead balls helped them to secure the win.
“We knew that we were facing a team which prefers to defend a lot as they usually let many players behind the ball,” Kaze said as quoted by
“Playing on this type of the pitch, we knew that the game would be judged via dead balls and we had to train hard on that area.
“We watched a couple of their league matches they played to study them on how they play. Unfortunately, we accepted an early goal which made us play under pressure since we registered more incomplete passes.
The goal awoke Yanga, who threw everything at Dodoma and it was no surprise when captain Lamine Moro met a free-kick from Michael Sarpong, and turned round to smash it home.
The teams headed into the half-time break tied at 1-1 but Yanga came back a more rejuvenated side as they sought to take the lead and protect their unbeaten run, and their relentless efforts were rewarded in the 69th minute when Ntibazonkiza announced his arrival with a beautifully taken goal.
Defender Bakari Mwamnyeto then made it 3-1 in favour of Yanga after a free-kick from Ntibazonkiza was not cleared by Dodoma defenders, and he used the half chance to squeeze the ball past the legs of the keeper and ensure they claim maximum points from the tie played in Arusha.