Harambee Stars midfielder one game away from historic five-peat with Yanga
Reading Time: 2min | Sat. 27.06.26. | 19:44
The victory leaves Yanga just 90 minutes away from successfully defending their league crown, although fierce rivals Simba SC remain firmly in contention
Young Africans SC (Yanga) are on the cusp of retaining the Tanzania Premier League title after cruising to a commanding 3-0 victory over Tabora United at KMC Stadium.
Download our Mozzart Sport app for more news
The defending champions produced another convincing display to maintain control of the title race, with Harambee Stars midfielder Duke Abuya playing a key role after earning a place in the starting line-up.
Yanga, the record 31-time Tanzanian champions, broke the deadlock in the 28th minute through Uganda international Allan Okello, who calmly finished to hand his side a deserved lead.
Despite falling behind, Tabora United responded positively and enjoyed sustained spells of possession, forcing Yanga to remain disciplined as they headed into the halftime break holding a slender 1-0 advantage.
The hosts wasted little time after the restart, doubling their lead in the 51st minute. Okello converted confidently from 12 yards after Yanga were awarded a spot-kick, putting the champions firmly in control.
The Ugandan midfielder completed a memorable afternoon just nine minutes later, finding the back of the net again to seal his first-ever hat-trick in Yanga colours and extend the lead to 3-0.
.jpg)
With the result beyond doubt, the remainder of the match was largely uneventful as Tabora struggled to mount a comeback. Yanga comfortably saw out the contest to register consecutive victories, bouncing back strongly after last weekend's FA Cup defeat to Azam FC.
The victory leaves Yanga just 90 minutes away from successfully defending their league crown, although fierce rivals Simba SC remain firmly in contention with only two points separating the two sides heading into the final round of fixtures.
Elsewhere, Simba SC kept the pressure on the league leaders with a convincing 2-0 victory over Singida Black Stars. Harambee Stars forward Mohamed Bajaber did not feature in the encounter as Simba maintained their pursuit of the championship, setting up a thrilling finale to the title race.
In another fixture involving Kenyan representatives, Pamba Jiji—featuring Brian Eshihanda, Mathews Tegisi and Shaphan Oyugi, and coached by Kenyan tactician Francis Baraza—suffered a second successive defeat after falling 2-1 to JKT Tanzania.