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Bikita Minerals 1-0 Chicken Inn
A 10th-minute free kick from Pascal Shumbaimwe was all Bikita Minerals needed to secure a gritty 1-0 win over a wasteful Chicken Inn side in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League clash on Saturday.
The result keeps Bikita’s unbeaten home run intact since switching their base to Gibbo and adds more misery to Chicken Inn’s faltering season. But the real talking point came at the death, when referee Mercy Mayimbo waved away strong penalty appeals from the Gamecocks, sparking a furious post-match outburst from their coach Joey Antipas.
Shumbaimwe’s goal, a curling set piece that took an awkward bounce before slipping past a flat-footed Aaron Ngwenya, was enough to separate the sides. Ngwenya, deputising for Bernard Donovan, who is finalising a move to South African First Division outfit Kruger United, looked shaky throughout.
Despite enjoying the bulk of possession and creating more chances, Chicken Inn let themselves down with poor finishing. George Majika had the best of them in the 22nd minute but somehow missed an open goal, placing his shot wide from close range.
The Gamecocks’ direct approach created problems for Bikita, but their finishing left a lot to be desired. Defender Lincoln Mangaira should have equalised in the 53rd minute, but he nodded wide from point-blank range off a Majika corner.
Substitute Mpumelelo Bhebhe also came close late on, only to see his close-range shot deflected over by Bikita goalkeeper Biggie Temera, with ten minutes left.
As Chicken Inn threw bodies forward in search of an equaliser, Bikita defended with everything, even parking 10 men behind the ball. But the big moment came right at the end, when Chicken Inn thought they had earned a penalty. The referee thought otherwise.
“We dominated for 90 minutes. They had one shot on target, the free-kick and they scored. We created chances but couldn’t score,” fumed Antipas after the match.
“On the 90th minute, we were denied a clear penalty. The referee decided to blow the final whistle instead. It’s disappointing. Our referees need to improve. Football in this country won’t grow with this kind of officiating. Let the better team win, don’t favour sides. That was blatant favouring.”
Bikita coach Wilson Mutekede, struck a more diplomatic tone, focusing on his team’s rise up the table to 10th place with 22 points.
“We’re happy to collect maximum points at home. We’re still unbeaten here at Gibbo. The boys are now used to the pitch and we’re able to control games and play our way,” said Mutekede.
The win gives Bikita some breathing space in the bottom half of the table, while Chicken Inn’s problems continue to pile up, not just on the scoreboard, but with growing discontent over refereeing.
Meanwhile, Onward Gangata writes from Gweru that Herentals clocked 450 minutes without scoring a goal in the Castle Lager Premiership when they held high-riding TelOne to a draw yesterday.
For the fifth straight match, Herentals walked off the pitch without a goal. And once again, the scoreboard told the story.
A goalless draw away to TelOne at Bata Stadium yesterday stretched the Students’ goal drought to five matches, a concerning trend that doesn’t seem to rattle coach Celestino Benza.
Since their 1-0 win over Highlanders on Africa Day, Herentals have stuttered in front of goal, drawing three in a row and losing the two before that. Yet despite their wastefulness, especially in the first half of this Castle Lager Premier Soccer League clash, Benza is keeping calm.
“It was a good game of football, we played well, and I think it was a good performance although we missed that penalty,” he said.
“Sometimes things do not go our way, getting a point is better than losing. We hope that we are going to start converting and start winning games. For us we are not worried.”
