adminBUFFALOES continued with their fairy tale start to the season after registering yet another crucial victory against struggling Blue Rangers in a Castle Lager Premiership match at Gwanzura yesterday.
Blue Rangers failed to pick up from where they left last weekend when they registered their first win of the season beating a relatively troubled Hardbody 1-0 and instead it was Buffaloes who played with more hunger and determination.
Lloyd Katongomara opened the scoring for Buffaloes in the 20th minute capitalising on sloppy defending from Rangers and put the ball to the far corner giving Nelson Moses who was in goals for Blue Rangers no chance.
After the goal Buffaloes gained confidence and started dictating the proceedings, with Rangers forced to defend deep against the wave of red shirts .
The second half saw chances for both sides, but the match changed on the hour mark when substitute Malvern Dumbura headed home the second goal for Buffaloes and condemned Rangers to their ninth defeat in the league this season.
With a bit of luck and accuracy Buffaloes could have scored half a dozen goals with Prosper Matizanadzo being the most unfortunate as he saw his effort hit the post and went wide in the 52nd minute.
Buffaloes coach Saul Chaminuka was happy with the win and hinted at ambitions to fight for the championship.
“I am happy with the win, we played well and for the first time we scored more than one goal which gives the boys confidence to keep working hard.
“I can’t say we are real contenders of the league title but you can also avoid relegation by winning the championship,” said Chaminuka.
Buffaloes will face FC Platinum at home in their next match and Chaminuka is confident they can cause an upset over the miners.
“It seems we are more comfortable playing away from home because we have been good on the road this season so against Platinum we will see what happens.
“We will approach the game just as any other games we have played, there is no special treatment for them and if we play our usual game we can win,” said Chaminuka.
Blue Rangers coach Misheck Chidzambwa admitted defeat and was full of praise for the Mutare based side.
“We were dead, we played second to them and we lost the match.
“They played better than us and they could have beaten us by more than two goals if they had utilised all their chances,” said Chidzambwa.
The defeat for Rangers yesterday means they remain second from bottom on the log with six points from one win, three draws and nine losses.
Buffaloes maintained fourth place on the table with 23 points the same number as their next opponents FC Platinum which makes their upcoming clash interesting as they will both look for maximum points to stay within the reach of pacesetters Highlanders.
Teams:
Blue Rangers: M. Nelson, M Mabach (P Nyikadzino 54th minute), T Mpungu, F Mukayira, S Hadebe, M Takunda, N Chazika, C Boroma, T Munrtsi, T Mparaganda (N Mkwezaramba 54th minute), E Kopeni
Buffaloes:
H Bere, P Alfas, D Chinowawa, K Juwankinyu (M Dumbura 56th minute), P Matizanadzo, T Ndlovu, M Wayerera, P Bamusi (J Jambo 56th minute ), L Katongomara, P Thembani
Online Reporter