SIMBA head coach Fadlu Davids has voiced his frustrations after his team was denied a penalty in the closing stages of their match against arch-rivals Young Africans on Thursday evening.

The incident occurred when Simba's Kelvin Kijiri went down inside the penalty area under a challenge from Young Africans defender Chadrack Boka. 

However, referee Elly Sassi waved play on, much to the dismay of Davids and his team.

Speaking after the game, Davids did not hide his disappointment, insisting that the decision was a clear error. 

"First of all, the referee should be brave and give a penalty. I watched it back, and it was a clear penalty. I know it's the 94th minute, but it's unacceptable to miss a clear penalty like that, especially when it could have given us the goal," Davids remarked.

The South African coach also acknowledged the shortcomings in his team's attacking department, admitting that they need reinforcements to bolster their offensive capabilities. 

"We need to strengthen in the attacking department for sure. We are working hard behind the scenes to strengthen our team. That is clear," Davids stated.

Despite the controversy and his team's attacking struggles, Davids was pleased with Simba's overall performance. 

He felt that his team matched Young Africans, a side that has been largely unchanged, despite Simba having been together for only four weeks.

"I think tonight we have shown that there is no difference between the two teams. We have shown a really brave face to go out there. This is a team that has been together for three years, and we are the team that has been together for four weeks, and it didn’t look like that today," he said.

Davids emphasized the importance of using the defeat as motivation for the rest of the season. 

"Our players have to use this defeat to push us on for the rest of the season because we can’t accept a defeat like this and just be okay. We have to use the pain of this defeat to drive us for the rest of the season," he urged.

Analyzing the match, Davids acknowledged that his team had handled their opponents well, aside from the lapse in concentration that led to Young Africans' goal. 

"We handled them quite well besides the goal they scored through the center. We spoke about it, that’s where they want to attack, and one lapse of concentration, an individual mistake, led to the goal," Davids noted.

In conclusion, while Davids credited his players for their performance after just four weeks together, he reiterated the need to improve their attacking options. 

"We have got to create more and score more goals. As I mentioned, we need to strengthen our attacking department to have that fluidity and be able to score more goals," he concluded.