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Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
Chicken Inn 1-0 Tsholotsho FC
TSHOLOTSHO coach Lizwe Sweswe remained defiant that his side will finally get it right after his boys dropped their second sets of three points on the trot following their loss to Chicken Inn at Luveve Stadium yesterday.
Iziqholo zeZhwane fell to a 34th minute clinical finish by Clemence Matawu who pounced on poor clearance by the Tsholotsho defenders.
“We’re still hopeful that we will get it right one of these days, I’m certainly not getting scared by the results, far from it,” said Sweswe.
The match kicked off with the GameCocks clearly eager to find an early goal that would have unsettled the new kids on the block and they could have had it as early as the fourth minute had the out of sorts Hwange referee Hardly Ndazi awarded them a penalty after Edmore Chirambadare had wheezed his way past a cluster of his former teammates before being hacked down inside the box.
Ndazi who was far from the action, totally ignored shouts for a spot kick.
Two minutes later, Mitchelle Katsvairo received a clinical pass just outside the edge of the box, moved a metre or so before letting loose a pile driver that however found Mariyoni Chang, the Tsholotsho goalkeeper well alert as he acrobatically tipped the ball for a corner kick.
Danger was looming for Iziqholo zeZhwane and in the 15th minute George Majika’s stinging shot was spilled by Mariyoni for another corner kick.
Tsholotsho slowly came out of their slumber after the quarter hour mark and their first visit in the home team goal area could have earned them a penalty but once again, that opportunity was turned away by Ndazi despite a clear handball inside the box.
Harare City tormentor Simbarashe Gorogodyo nearly found his side’s opener in the 20th minute when he worked his way past a number of Chicken Inn defenders on the far side but his final touch, as he prepared to go for the kill inside the box let him down.
Five minutes before halftime, Elvis Chipezeze, the Chicken Inn goalie was yellow carded for handling the ball outside the box and that proved to be the last real action of the first stanza.
In an effort to probably bring in a faster pair of legs, Sweswe took out Delight Chivunduko and brought in Kudzanai Machazane whose presence was immediately felt.
Moments of brilliance from the visitors’ side could, however, not result in any goal but the last five minutes were quite scary for Chicken Inn as Tsholotsho literally camped in their final third as they searched for that elusive goal.
“Credit to Tsholotsho, they really gave us a good run for our money but I must say it was good to be back on winning ways after that away loss,” said Chicken Inn gaffer Joey Antipas.
Teams
Chicken Inn: E Chipezeze, J Moses, G Majika (C Nkomo 68th min), D Lunga, D Phiri, M Katsvairo (T Goredema 87th min), P Bernard, L Mhlanga, C Matawu, E Chirambadare, T Kutinyu
Unused subs: P Zendera, B Juru, T Banda, M Dube
Tsholotsho: C Mariyoni, M Phiri, N Moyo, T Ncube (D Dzvinyai 72nd min), W Stima, B Ncube, K Chitiyo, O Ncube (A Ncube 61st min), S Gorogodyo, G Nixon, D Chivunduko(K Machazane 46th min).
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