Arusha. Yanga were held to a goalless draw by TRA United in a Tanzanian Premier League clash on Wednesday, March 18, 2026 at Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium in Arusha, as the two sides failed to break the deadlock.
The Dar es Salaam giants were missing six key players through injury: Clement Mzize, Dickson Job, Ibrahim Abdullah ‘Bacca’, Laurindo Aurelio ‘Depu’, Chadrack Boka and Edmund John.
Despite these absences, Yanga kept a clean sheet in a league match for the first time without their central defensive duo Job and Bacca.
Their replacements, Bakari Mwamnyeto and Frank Assinki, defended solidly in front of goalkeeper Djigui Diarra, who recorded his ninth clean sheet of the season.
However, attacking problems persisted. Yanga were without striker Laurindo Aurelio ‘Depu’, who has scored six goals, and lost Prince Dube to injury in the 21st minute.
Dube, also a six-goal scorer, was replaced by Emmanuel Mwanengo, who struggled to make an impact. In the 54th minute, Mwanengo headed a chance on target, only for it to be comfortably saved.
TRA United’s defence, marshalled by Captain Nasry Kombo and Chamou Karaboue, proved resolute in protecting goalkeeper Jean-Noël Amonome, who extended his clean sheet tally to five.
The defence disrupted Dube early on, and with his early exit, Yanga failed to test the TRA goal in the first half. They only managed their first corner in the 41st minute, which came to nothing, leaving TRA secure.
Both sides primarily built attacks from the flanks. TRA relied heavily on wingers Joseph Akandwanaho and Ramadhan Chobwedo to challenge Yanga full-backs Mohammed Hussein (left) and Israel Mwenda (right).
However, Mwenda was forced off early in the second half, replaced by Yao Kouassi Attohoula. Sheikhan Ibrahim became Yanga’s first player booked in the 60th minute for bringing down Chobwedo.
Coach Pedro Goncalves made a double substitution in the 65th minute, introducing Allan Okello and Mudathir Yahya for Sheikhan and Duke Abuya, but TRA remained solid.
TRA manager Ettiene Ndayiragije also made changes, bringing on Omary Yusuph for Chanda Chewa in the 66th minute to bolster their attacking options alongside Amy Mapaka.
TRA were reduced to ten men in the 77th minute when midfielder Mzamiru Yassin received a second yellow card, forcing them to play nearly 19 minutes short-handed before the six added minutes expired.
The midfield battle was intense, with Mzamiru and Jamal Dulaz clashing with Yanga’s Mohamed Damaro and Duke Abuya, while TRA defenders Chamou and Kombo performed admirably to repel Yanga’s attacking efforts.
Injuries remain a concern for Yanga as Dube and right-back Israel Mwenda both left the field due to knocks. The draw keeps Yanga atop the table with 37 points, nine clear of second-placed Azam and third-placed JKT Tanzania, who have 28 points each, while Simba sit fourth on 27 points.
This marks Yanga’s second consecutive league game without scoring, following a similar 0-0 draw against Azam last weekend. After 15 games in the first round, Yanga have won 11 and drawn four, remaining unbeaten.
Azam have played 14 matches, with their next fixture against Mashujaa in Kigoma tomorrow, while Simba will play their 13th match against Pamba Jiji, meaning a strong showing in these games could see them narrow the gap to just one point behind their traditional rivals.
