Ayiekoh leads Simba Queens to Women's Champions League target

By press time, Simba Queens were waiting to see who their opponents in the semi-finals of the Caf Women's Champions League going on in Morocco would be.

That alone will sound like music in the ears of many fans of the Tanzanian clubs but it also the best performance from a Cecafa region club in this young Champions League as Kenya's Vihiga Queens stopped at the group stages last year. 

For Ugandan fans, the interest in Simba is that at the helm of these East African trendsetters is coach Charles Ayiekoh, a man who has curved a career out snatching important results where no one sees a possibility.

Ayiekoh joined Simba at the start of October after they had beaten his former club She Corporate in the finals of the qualifiers in Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania. 

Striker Opah Clement Tukumbukwe said their target would be "at least making the semi-finals" and Ayiekoh has guided them there by making them hard to beat but also purposeful on the break.

After losing 1-0 to hosts AS Far in the opener, every match became a cup final for Simba and Ayiekoh said they would make it if they "improved on scoring."

They duly did by beating Liberia's Determine Girls and on Saturday Zambia's Green Buffaloes 2-0 apiece to secure a berth in the last four.

Buffaloes was a huge test because they travelled to Morocco having beaten defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns on penalties in the finals of their own zone (Cosafa)'s qualifiers for this year's Champions League.

But they were dispatched by goals from Asha Djafari and Tukumbukwe in the 64th and 79th minutes respectively.

CAF WOMEN'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 

RESULTS - GROUP A

Simba Queens 2-0 Green Buffaloes 

Determine Girls 0-2 AS Far