adminRicky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
BULAWAYO Chiefs completed a double over Southern Region Division One League leaders Bantu Rovers with a 1-0 win on Saturday.
Farawo Matare scored the solitary goal in the second half to end title favourites Rovers’ seven-match unbeaten run.
The win enabled Chiefs to reduce the gap between them and the log leaders to six points after 19 rounds of games. There are now 11 matches remaining in the campaign.
Rovers have amassed 44 points while Chiefs are second sit on 38 points.
The gap could have been smaller had Chiefs not been shocked 0-2 by mid-table side Talen Vision last week. Despite beating the title favourites, Chiefs coach Thulani Sibanda said Rovers had given them a tough time.
“It’s good to win against a side that plays good football and sit at the top of the table because it boosts players’ confidence going forward.
“I think this win also gives Rovers, who are better positioned for the title, a chance to work on their shortcomings as they prepare for the PSL play-offs at the end of the season.
“As for us, we’re just trying to make sure we finish the season strongly and lay a foundation for next season,” said Sibanda.
Chiefs could be playing mind games by ruling themselves out of the championship race to take off pressure off their players in the title fight.
Southern Region Division One League champions will compete for the two PSL slots against winners of the Central, Eastern and Northern regions First Division.
Rovers coach Johannes Ngodzo said: “The boys gave a good fight, but it’s unfortunate that we lost this game.
“Losing is part of the game and we have to go back to the drawing board and try to work hard so that we get a positive result in our next game.”
Third-placed ZPC Hwange were held 0-0 by Technosphere in a Hwange derby. The powermen have 36 points from 19 matches, eight points behind the leaders.
Fourth-placed Amagagasi of Victoria Falls drew 0-0 away to Ntabazinduna.
Makomo’s 13-match unbeaten run was ended by a 0-2 loss to Bosso 90, while ZRP Bulawayo beat Talen Vision 2-0 to move a place up the ladder from position nine to eight.
Results
Victoria Falls Tigers 0-0 Black Boots, Indlovu Iyanyathela 3-0 ZRP Hwange, ZPC Hwange 0-0 Technosphere, Hwange Juniors 1-1 Casmyn, Talen Vision 0-2 ZRP Bulawayo Province, Bulawayo Chiefs 1-0 Bantu Rovers, Bosso 90 2-0 Makomo, Ntabazinduna 0-0 Amagagasi
Table
P W D L F A GD Pts
Bantu Rovers 19 14 2 3 33 6 27 44
Bulawayo Chiefs 19 11 5 3 26 11 15 38
ZPC Hwange 19 9 9 1 18 8 10 36
Amagagasi 18 10 5 3 22 8 14 35
Victoria Falls Tigers 19 8 4 7 17 16 1 28
Technosphere 19 7 7 5 11 14 -3 28
Black Boots 18 6 6 6 21 16 5 24
ZRP Bulawayo 18 6 6 6 16 14 2 24
Bosso90 19 6 5 8 21 21 0 23
Talen Vision 19 6 5 8 16 21 -5 23
Casmyn 19 4 8 7 16 17 -1 20
Indlovu Iyanyathela 19 6 2 11 13 23 -10 20
Ntabazinduna 19 4 7 8 10 23 -13 19
Makomo 19 4 6 9 9 16 -7 18
Hwange Juniors 19 3 7 8 8 16 -8 17
ZRP Hwange 18 2 3 13 10 37 -27 9
@ZililoR.
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