Sundaymail Editor
Moffat Mungazi in MUTARE
Black Rhinos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1) 1
WhaWha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
Black Rhinos have turned Sakubva Stadium into their fortress.
A solitary first-half strike by Stanley Murove was all that the army side needed to overcome Prisons and Correctional Services outfit WhaWha in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match played at the venue yesterday.
They have not lost a game since going down 2-1 to Dynamos on April 3, managing three wins and as many draws.
They have now amassed 25 points, six off the pace of log leaders Chicken Inn after 16 matches.
Chauya Chipembere are now seventh and despite losing a number of players, they have forced themselves into the reckoning in the title race.
The hosts dominated from kick-off, did the job in the opening stanza and held things together in the second half.
Murove struck on the half-hour mark, scuffing his effort into the nets beyond a desperately diving Terrence Chiku in goals for WhaWha.
WhaWha’s defence was guilty of ball-watching after failing to clear a long throw-in from the left side by Peace Makaha to allow Murove to stab home. The remainder of the half saw Rhinos continuing with their neat build-ups.
Farai Banda, the seemingly ageless Allen Gahadzikwa and Vincent Mhandu were heavily involved in their forward raids.
An elated Black Rhinos coach Herbert Maruwa commended the team for grinding out another good result.
“It was a good game and credit to the boys for managing the game well after scoring that goal. “Although the second half was a bit tough as WhaWha made it difficult for us to play our normal game, I am happy that we won the game and also managed a clean sheet in the process,” said Maruwa.
WhaWha gaffer Luke Petros Jukulile rued his charges’ “indecisiveness”, which he said cost them the game.
“My players failed to follow instructions and take responsibility in the opening minutes.
“That forced us to make a substitution in the first half, as we did not play according to the gameplan and it destroyed everything,” he said.
After playing second fiddle in the first half, the visitors came out of their shell after the interval and took the game to their opponents.
On the stroke of half time, Jukulile introduced Washington Mapuwa for Bagio Shome, as they sought more movement upfront.
But it was the introduction of Callum English-Brown in the 48th minute which shifted the game’s balance in WhaWha’s favour.
His clever moves added more attacking impetus to their frontline.
He combined well with the seasoned Tineyi Chitora. However, his trickery on the ball also saw him being a victim of some crude tackles in dangerous areas, but WhaWha could not capitalise on the set-pieces.
Online Reporter