*MBEYA CITY BATTLES TO EDGE ACADEMIE TCHITE

Mbeya City (3) Vs Academie Tchite (2)

AFC Leopards (2) Etincelles (0)

Tanzania’s Mbeya City fought from a goal down to edge determined Academie Tchite of Burundi 3-2 on Saturday evening in the first fixture of group ‘B’ of the ongoing CECAFA Nile Basin Cup here in Khartoum, Sudan.

Mbeya who arrived in Khartoum on the eve of the match day went a goal down in the 10^th minute through Rashid patient but recovered fast from the shock when Nonga Paul headed home an equalizer just five minutes later.

The Tanzanian boys were back on target in the 27^th minute with yet another header from team captain Mwagane Yeya. Themy Felix put it to 3-1 in the 37^th minute to send his side into a comfortable half time break.

The second half saw the Burundians mounting maximum pressure on Mbeya whose effort yielded a result in the 68^th minute when Manirakiza Cedric scored their second goal.

Mbeya Coach, Mwambusi Juma hailed his boys for the victory and promised fireworks in the next game. “The boys were fatigued and slowed down in the second half but I praise them for the maximum points”, said Mwambusi who spoke in Kiswahili.

His hopeful counterpart Ndayizeye Jimmy congratulated Mbeya City adding, “we can still recover and qualify for the quarter finals”. 

Goal scorers: Academie Tchite: (Rashid Patient-10’, Manirakiza 68’).

Mbeya City: (Nonga paul-15’, Mwagane Yeya 27’ and Themy Felix 37’)

ROGERS MULINDWA

CECAFA MEDIA MANAGER

+249-927-320-683