Former Stellenbosch coach Steve Barker saw his Simba side draw 0-0 with Young Africans in Sunday’s Tanzanian derby, leaving them still trailing their arch rivals by five points.
The clash between Simba and Yanga is considered among the fiercest rivalries in African football, with some 70 000 spectators regularly attending the game in Dar-es-Salaam.
On Sunday, however, it was hosted at the New Amaan Complex in Zanzibar because of renovations to the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in the Tanzanian capital.
Barker’s side were the dominant team in the derby, with Yanga’s Mali international goalkeeper Djigui Diarra voted man of the match as he kept out the Simba attacks.
Simba did find the net in the 70th minute, but the effort was controversially ruled out for offside.
But the draw can be seen as a positive for Barker, as Simba had suffered six consecutive defeats in their previous head-to-head encounters against their rivals.
Yanga now have 29 points from 11 matches, with 24 for Simba, who are in third place in the standings.
Last season, Yanga beat Simba into second place by five points to make it four league titles in a row. Simba last won the league title in 2021.
Barker joined Simba in January, and in 10 matches in charge, has won four, drawn five, and lost only once to Esperance in the African Champions League. Simba finished bottom of their Champions League group and are now able to concentrate on chasing Yanga for the Tanzanian Ligi Kuru Bara title.