Online Reporter
Tongai Mashonga
A frantic second half at Chahwanda Stadium rescued ambitious newcomers Hardrock FC in a 2-2 draw against unbeaten Ngezi Platinum yesterday.
But only after the hosts had gifted Ngezi Platinum Stars a lead in a game that never settled.
Ngezi struck first in the 25th minute, Malvin Gaki finishing off a sharp move after Tinotenda Murasiranwa beat his man down the left and squared for a simple tap-in. It had been coming.
The second half opened with urgency from the hosts. The pressure finally told when captain Munyaradzi Diro Nyenye rose to head home from Mashaireni’s corner and bring Hardrock level.
But the lead didn’t last. Moments after pulling his side back, Diro Nyenye turned provider for the wrong team. A loose square pass was intercepted by Gaki, who released Tinotenda Ditima. Ditima teed up Ashwin Karengesha, and he made no mistake, firing Ngezi back in front from the edge of the box. Hardrock refused to fold. With eight minutes left, Washington Navaya latched onto a long ball from Misheck Ngwenya, burst through and beat Darlington Murasiranwa to restore parity. Hardrock coach Kelvin Kaindu pointed to costly lapses at the back. “We made mistakes at the back and gifted them two goals,” he said. Ngezi Platinum Stars coach Kumbirai Mutiwekuziva felt his side had done enough to take something from a tough away assignment.
“It was a tricky, difficult game playing Hardrock at their fortress. But we managed to hold on and took the lead. We were good on keeping possession and applying our game well. From the start we knew it was one of our biggest games. They are still to lose a game in the league, they are quite mobile and pick up points away from home. The disadvantage we had is we gave away possession twice and they scored. We did not defend well but we showed resilience and came back twice to draw. After making those mistakes and picking a point is fair. We made a number of mistakes which we need to work on going forward.”
Mathew Masinge