Simba plan early goal against Stellies to finish the job – Davids

Confident Simba coach Fadlu Davids says Stellenbosch “crack under pressure” and the Tanzanian team will target an early goal when they meet in the second leg of the CAF Confederation Cup semifinal at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday at 3pm.

Simba have an advantage after winning the home leg 1-0 in Zanzibar on Sunday. After missing the first leg due to a lack of fitness, Stellies’ first-choice goalkeeper Sage Stephens is expected to start ahead of Oscarine Masuluke on Sunday.

“We’ve laid the foundation, but the house isn’t built yet,” Davids told Tanzania’s IPP Media. “We are going into the second leg with only one objective: get an early goal and finish the job. We will not play defensively. We will not play with fear. We are not going there to settle for a draw. We want to win.

“We know Stellenbosch is a youthful team, very fast, but they struggle when pressed intensely. They crack under pressure, and that’s what we want to capitalise on. We’re not giving them time to organise, we’re going there to attack.”

SA-born Davids will be looking to reach his second Confed Cup final as a coach after guiding Orlando Pirates to the final of the competition when he jointly coached them with Mandla Ncikazi in 2022, where they lost to current Moroccan champions RS Berkane on penalties.

Should Davids outwit Stellies, he is likely to meet Berkane again in the final as the Moroccan champions are on course to progress after thumping Algerian side CS Constantine 4-0 in their first leg of the competition’s semifinals at home on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Stellies will be without promising forward Langelihle Phili in the second leg after he was released to go with Amajita to the Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations, starting tomorrow until May 18 in Egypt. The 20-year-old Phili came off the bench in the 80th minute, replacing Devin Titus, in the first leg and showed flashes of brilliance.

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