Bafana Bafana midfielder Neo Maema has reacted to scooping his first Man of the Match award in Simba SC colours following their vital league victory on Thursday.
Simba beat Coastal Union 2-0 at home to move to second place in the Tanzanian Premier League log stadings with 34 points. They are now four points behind rivals Young Africans but have a game in hand.
Maema, who is on loan from Mamelodi Sundowns, is starting to regain his form in Tanzania after struggling in the first few months since he joined the club.
He recently scored his first league goal before the FIFA international break, which was his second for the club after netting in the CAF Champions League.
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“After the FIFA break, it’s never easy to gel as a team, so I feel we could have done better,” Maema admitted.
“However, it shows that with the type of game we played, we put it together as a team. For me, individual awards are just a reflection of all our hard work. So, I just want to thank my teammates for keeping it together and making sure that we got the three points.”
He added: “It’s not easy. That’s what I needed [to play 90 minutes]. I wanted to push myself to make sure that I play at least 80 minutes. But I am glad that I played the 90. So I am happy.”
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Maema also expressed gratitude to the Simba faithful whom he says have always rallied behind the team.
“These three points were for them [fans]. I am happy that they came in numbers today [Thursday]and I just urge them to continue to support the boys,” he said.
“With their energy in the stands, we can feel it even when things are tough. But we can feel it and we edge them to come in numbers on Sunday so that they can be our 12th man. We trust them and we love them and we will make sure that Sunday we win the three points for them.”
Simba SC face a daunting task on Sunday as they travel to Azam FC, hunting for maximum points to keep pace with Yanga in a high-stakes title race.
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