SIMBA Queens missed out an opportunity to grab maximum points after being held to a 1-1 draw by Yanga Princess in their Mainland Women's Premier League derby at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
The visitors took the lead at the stroke of the first half courtesy of Nigerian import Chioma Wogu whose freaking header was enough to give them a front seat ahead of the last half.
However, things made a U-turn early in the second half as Simba Queens leveled the score through a long range strike by substitute Vivian Aquino whose entry transformed the match in the best interest of the defending champions.
The first half was well balanced with both teams making several threatening attempts towards the other but most of them ended up being misused.
Simba Queens skipper Oppa Clement was a thorn in flesh for the visitors, troubling Yanga Princess defenders, but she could not make the most of her chances.
As the first half ended, Yanga Princess cherished a 1-0 lead hoping to replicate the same performance in the second half.
However, in the second half, the hosts came refreshed, no wonder they managed to pull level in the 59th minute to make the game thrilling and open to either team for possible increase of the tally.
So far, Fountain Gate Princess Lead the 10-team table with 9 points after winning all their three games and are the only side with a 100 percent start of the season.
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Both Simba Queens and Yanga Princess suffered defeats in their opening fixtures as Simba Queens suffered a 2-1 loss to JKT Queens at Mo Simba Arena in the city making it a poor start for the defending champions.
Likewise, Yanga Princess swallowed a bitter pill following a 1-0 loss to Fountain Gate Princess at Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam, an outcome which paved the way for the exit of the team's former Head Coach Edna Lema.
In their follow up fixtures, they both stamped victories with the Msimbazi Street Queens outclassing The Tigers Queens 4-0 in their first away match at Black Rhino Academy in Arusha.
In the same token, the Jangwani Street ladies defeated Mkwawa Queens 4-0 at Uhuru Stadium to get back to the winning rhythm of the women's league.
Leaving aside the footwork action on the pitch, a tense tactical battle was witnessed from the two Head Coaches - Charles Lukula for Simba Queens and Sebastian Nkoma for Yanga Princess.
For Lukula, it was his first derby in the country whiles his colleague Nkoma, has previously defeated Yanga Princess in the past derbies when he was Simba Queens trainer.
