Percy Tau was once again not included in the squad for Al Ahly's fixture over the weekend, while Simba SC coach Fadlu Davids got life in Tanzania off to a winning start!
Davids' Reds of Msimbazi kicked off their Tanzanian Premier League campaign just as they would have hoped, beating Tabora United by three goals to nil in their opening encounter on the weekend.
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They opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a well-worked corner routine. Their lead was then doubled in the 68th minute before the game was wrapped up in stoppage time.
The South African tactician will be looking for more results such as this one as Simba look to topple reigning champions Young Africans SC, who will open their league campaign with a clash against Kagera Sugar FC on Thursday 29 August.
Yanga were in CAF Champions League preliminary round action on the weekend, beating FC Vitalo by four goals to nil, while Moroccan outfit Raja Club Athletic were also victorious, beating Garde Nationale 2-1.
Meanwhile, in Egypt, Tau's Ahly suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat to fifth-placed Modern Future. The Red Devils opened the scoring in the 53rd minute courtesy of Omar Kamal, but this proved to not be enough as two late goals by Abdelkabir El Ouadi and Arnold Adrien Eba Tchebegna – both within the last 10 minutes of the game – handed the side victory.
The Bafana Bafana star has not featured for the Egyptian giants since scoring as a substitute in his team's 4-0 thumping of El Mokawloon on 4 August. That remains the only appearance Tau has made in Ahly's last nine league encounters, with some saying this is due to a fallout with his manager, while reports in the North African country have suggested he may have a minor injury.
Fagrie Lakay's Pyramids FC were also in action, also competing in the CAFCL preliminary round. The attacker was named in the starting line-up as his side took on Zanzibar's JKU SC, and picked up an emphatic 6-0 victory.
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Clubs competing in this phase of the competition will most likely be coming out of it a bit wealthier as CAF announced on Friday that all sides participating in the preliminary stages of the CAFCL as well as the CAF Confederation Cup will each receive $50 000 (about R893 000).