adminBruce Chikuni
Dynamos…………………………0
Highlanders…………………….0
(Highlanders won 5-3 on penalties)
HIGHLANDERS are slowly turning themselves into Uhuru Cup Kings.
The Bulawayo giants retained the prestigious trophy, thanks to a defensive masterclass, which helped them edge bitter rivals Dynamos at Mt Darwin High School yesterday.
Bosso beat the same opponents 1-0 last year, through a goal by Stanley Ngala.
Yesterday, they survived a storm, as they were forced to play one man down for long periods, after Andrew Mbeba was sent off for a shocking foul.
They expertly took the game to penalties and defender Peter Muduwa scored the winning spot kick.
Both teams started their best possible first XI and the only notable absentee for Dynamos was Frank Makatati, who is still on the recovery path.
People from Mashonaland Central Province came in droves to witness the clash of the country’s heavyweights.
And, this match had the intensity of a derby.
The crowd was somewhat kind to both teams as they were being cheered for every good move.
The first chance of the game fell to Tanaka Shandirwa who headed a cross from Emmanuel Ziocha over the bar in the third minute.
The intensity began to show in the 31th minute when Shandirwa, was booked for raising his boot high.
In no time, Mbeba was sent to the stands by referee, Lawrence Zimondi, for a crude tackle on Nyasha Chintuli, in the 33 minute.
Bosso retreated into a shell for the better part of the game. Dynamos were just toothless upfront with their offensive unit taking turns to miss some fine chances.
Second half substitute, Tendai Matindife, injected more aggression for Dynamos who were launching every ball forward but to no effect.
Chintuli saw his 60th minute effort being disallowed by the nearside assistant who had raised his flag for offside.
The Glamour Boys’ Emmanuel Paga, failed to hit the target with only the goalkeeper in his sight in the 85th minute.
The Ghanaian would be the fall guy during the penalty shootout after his casual effort was stopped by Ariel Sibanda,
Bosso coach, Baltemar Brito, said his boys deserved this victory after soldering on with 10 men.
“I’m happy to have finally win my first silverware in the country, it means a lot for the entire technical team and the fans who travelled all the way from Bulawayo.
“The boys played well,
“Mbeba made a mistake and his teammates accepted it and fought for the club to win this trophy.
“I’m happy with how we managed the game and the boys were just confident and I think they deserve it.”
His counterpart, Herbert Maruwa, was left to rue their failure to bury chances.
“We did well in all the departments but our strikers let us down.
“They missed a lot of changes and in football you can only win by scoring goals and that’s what we failed to do.
“But, overall, I’m happy with how the boys played, it’s only the final third where we need to be more ruthless.”
Online Reporter