Online Reporter
Tongai Mashonga
Zimpapers Sports Hub
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DEBUTANTS Hardrock have been shining at their magnificent Chahwanda stadium, a venue they have quickly turned into some fortress since their arrival on the Premier Soccer League scene at the start of the year.
But it needed one of the top-flight’s traditional giants to burst that bubble. And that giant came in the form of Highlanders, who in handing Hardrock their first defeat at Chahwanda, also inflicted a loss on their former coach, Kelvin Kaindu. Reason Sibanda was the catalyst coming off the bench and striking the goal that made all the difference with a brilliant acrobatic kick from a counter-attack, which fittingly had the crowd on their feet. Yet it was the visitors who had been on the backfoot when they scored against the run of play. It was Hardrock’s first defeat at their home and second of their life in the Premiership.
Both teams started slowly, with Andrew Mbeba and Issac Ngoma testing the waters with shots aimed at the Hardrock goal.
But the efforts were dealt with by the home defenders. The tempo of the game picked up after seven minutes with Mongameli Tshuma combining well with Mbeba and the defender sending in a cross which found no takers.
Hardrock quickly responded with an attack of their own when Munashe Bamara and Neliswa “Tiger” Dlamini exchanged, but the latter skied his shot. The Eswatini connection of Dlamini and Sambulo Simelane clicked twice, with Junior Makunike failing to score from the first move.
Shelton Moyo’s injury-inspired substitution affected Highlanders’ rhythm, as he had been in their attacks.
Kaindu said the defeat had pained the Kwekwe outfit, especially after they had been the dominant side throughout the encounter but had somehow failed to find their range.
“This our first defeat at home a bit painful, especially that we dominated the game we could have finished our business in the first half we had a couple of chances.
“We made changes at half time we controlled the game, but our opponents capitalised on a simple attack and got a goal.
“A draw for them was good; that’s why they were always on the ground.
“In football you win, lose and draw. We could have won it in the first half,” said Kaindu.
It is the first time in his coaching stint at Bosso that Benjani Mwaruwari registered back-to-back wins. He, however, acknowledged that it had not been an easy win.
“This game was very tough, Hardrock are a very difficult team to break, and today they gave us a hard time.
“My boys showed character and fought all the way. Back-to-back wins take us up.
“Hopefully we will correct our wrongs today. Sometimes if you win like this, you forget your mistakes. “We had a very good game against Hardrock. I don’t want to talk about referees, match officials are human beings sometimes they are bound to make mistakes, we have to correct our mistakes and work hard for the next game. “We are still building, it’s a process we started with seven draws, and now we have back-to-back wins. We are heading in the right direction,” Mwaruwari said.
