The burly striker was then unveiled three days later after the Caf assignment but according to the club’s CEO Barbara Gonzalez, they are yet to get his clearance from Zimbabwe.
“The Zimbabwean federation has been very slow in terms of confirming and responding to this but I believe that between the next two or three days it may arrive,” Gonzalez told
Goal.
Gonzalez further confirmed they have already received the transfer certificates for the other new signings.
“We are still waiting for the ITC to arrive, we have already completed everything on our part, especially on the network, so it is upon Zimbabwe federation to speed up the process, she added.
It was Bwalya who opened the floodgates in the 39th minute after meeting a pass from Meddie Kagere to slot into an empty net. Al-Hilal responded with a well-taken goal in the 44th minute after Salim rounded up the Simba defenders to beat goalkeeper Beno Kakolanya.
The two teams headed into the half-time break tied at 1-1 but it was Simba who came back a more rejuvenated side and it was Zimbabwean striker Chikwende, signed from FC Platinum, who marked his debut with a goal after tapping home another cross from Kagere in the 72nd minute.
Coach Da Rosa then introduced returning Ghanaian Morrison, and he arrived in fashion as he scored two goals in quick succession, one in the 87th and the other in the 90th minute to seal the game for Simba.
“My belief is that as time goes on he will be better and more stable so he needs time to improve it will not be as fast as we need it to be.”
Simba have lined up a tournament in Dar es Salaam to gauge their preparedness ahead of group stage matches of the Caf Champions League.
The tournament, dubbed ‘Simba Super Cup’, will kick off on Wednesday with Tout Puissant Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Al-Hilal from Sudan the other teams set to take part.
Simba will open the tournament with a clash against Al-Hilal, and commenting on the tournament, Da Rosa said: “As for the competition, we are participating in I say we are coming up against good teams and we strive to do well especially as the players have been seen doing well in practice.”
“He is as fit as a fiddle and will appear on the pitch soon so fans should not have any doubts about our player.”
On January 15, Simba confirmed through their Board of Director Kassim Dewji that the former Orlando Pirates star had been ruled out for six months because of injury.
“Morrison is having some pain which is unsettling him whenever he wants to play and we have now been advised to take him for further tests and it could end with surgery,” Dewji told reporters in Dar es Salaam.
“He has not played for us for a very long time despite training with the team but he now has a routine he will follow which includes surgery and he has also been told to stay out for six months.”