adminEllina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
CHEGUTU Pirates might have returned home, after a short banishment, but Pfupajena is not yet providing the comforts expected from home sweet home.
The Pirates played their last three home matches at Chakari after authorities cracked the whip and punished the club for crowd trouble.But, on their return to Pfupajena, the Pirates were beaten 0-1 by championship-chasing Gunners on Saturday.
Now, Pirates’ team manager, Emmanuel Gutu, says they are contemplating whether to continue playing their home matches at Pfupajena or look for an alternative ground as they believe the stadium is cursed.
Pirates won two of the three matches they played at Chakari.
Speaking to The Herald yesterday, Gutu said their failure to score at home has left them worried about the poor results at Pfupajena. Gutu also said that the failure by James Salima to convert a penalty in the second half, which could have seen them equalising, added to the belief that the ground is cursed.
“We got a penalty but we failed to convert in the second half after a Gunners’ player handled the ball but James Salima failed to score.
“He is the one who usually takes penalties and Gunners goalkeeper also made some crucial saves. It was an exciting match.
“We have never scored at home and people think juju is at play. So when we got a penalty we thought we would score and people are starting to believe that the ground is cursed.
“We are now deciding whether to continue at Pfupajena or go to Chakari because that is where we got our wins. Financially, playing at home is rewarding but we only got results coming from Chakari. We will give it a try, maybe when we play Royal Classic who are struggling, before we make a final decision. If we fail to score then we will see what will be our next move,” said Gutu.
Gutu said they were happy with the atmosphere that prevailed on Saturday.
“People thought there would be violence but fortunately all went well and we had 30 police officers at the game. We told them to behave and Zifa officials attended the game. The ban was effective and the police did a good job. We thought people would react because of the defeat,” said Gutu.
Pirates remain in the danger zone as they are second from the bottom on the log standings together with Royal Classic who are bottom with just six points.
Royal Classic have so far lost 12 matches and on Saturday they were thumped 1-4 by Karoi United at Chikangwe.
Online Reporter