Harambee Stars centre back Brian Mandela and his club Stellenbosch have been dumped out of the CAF Confederation Cup despite playing Tanzanian giants Simba to a barren draw. Playing in front of home fans at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, Stellenbosch needed at least a 2-0 win to guarantee themselves a place in the final. However, the 1-0 win Simba recorded in the first leg of the semifinal played last week in Zanzibar, proved enough to punch a ticket to the final. ##NAJAVA_MECA_8883783##Mandela, who joined the club in August last year, watched the entire proceedings from the substitutes’ bench. Needing a win to overturn the deficit, Stellenbosch threw everything forward, but could not find a way past an inspired Simba defence and goalkeeper Moussa Camara, who stood tall throughout a tense encounter.Stellenbosch came closest in the closing stages, with Fawaaz Basadien and Ismaël Touré both missing opportunities late in the game.On-form Talanta forward determined to heal career heartbreaks with individual awardDevin Titus and Sanele Barns also saw efforts narrowly miss the target as the hosts desperately searched for a breakthrough.Earlier, Stellenbosch thought they had taken the lead midway through the second half when Genino Palace found the back of the net, but VAR ruled the goal out for offside, dealing a heavy blow to Steve Barker’s side.Simba, coached by Fadlu Davids, executed a near-perfect tactical plan, frustrating the South Africans and slowing down the game whenever necessary.Gor Mahia humiliate league newcomers Mara Sugar to move within two points of FKFPL summitThey survived a number of scares in the final 10 minutes, including two late corners, but showed impressive composure to see out the result.The result continues Simba’s dream of a first continental title since 1993, when they reached the final of the old CAF Cup, only to finish runners-up.The Wekundu wa Msimbazi will now face the winner of the other semi-final between CS Constantine of Algeria and Morocco’s RS Berkane in the final.For Stellenbosch, it marks the end of a historic Confederation Cup campaign, their maiden voyage into continental football, which saw them reach the last four against all expectations.Shabana coach coy on team’s title chances after win over City StarsSimba will take confidence from their solid defensive resilience and will now shift focus to preparing for the final, where they hope to complete a memorable journey with silverware. This is not the first time a Tanzanian club is making it to the Confederation Cup final, as Simba’s sworn rivals Yanga graced the final in May 2023.
