adminEllina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
Commando Bullets . . . . .(1)2
Gunners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1)1
THE title race in the World Navi Northern Region Division One soccer league took another twist yesterday after Gunners slipped into second place after losing 1-2 to Commando Bullets at Commando.
Rivals Flame Lily picked a big point when they drew 0-0 against Mushowani Stars in Madziva.
Flame Lilly are now on top with 58 points and Gunners are a point behind.
Mushowani Stars are firmly in the race as they are three points behind the leaders.
Commando were the first to score in the 24th minute when Kelvin Tongovona fired home from a free-kick to beat Gunners ‘keeper Prosper Chigumba.
Two minutes later, the visitors equalised through Morris Musiyakuvi.
Commando, however, had the last laugh when they scored the winning goal in the 76th minute through substitute Grey Kufandada, who had replaced Sosten Zhuwaki soon after the break.
Gunners were leading the race since early July when they toppled the then pacesetters, Bindura United.
However, in the past four weeks, they have lost their touch and have now gone for four consecutive games without a win, losing two matches along the way.
Coach Kuda Masaraure said although it was a disappointing result, they were not out of the title race.
“The guys played well but the goalkeeper made a blunder, he should have stayed in his position, we could have drawn and got a point and everything would have been fine,” said Masaraure.
“We were not supposed to lose.
“A draw was okay but it’s quite unfortunate we lost, that’s football.
“We are going back to the drawing board to correct our mistakes.
“We have about five games to go so there is time to recover. We are now on number two, but we will be just a point behind so anything can happen.
“We just have to work on the team and not discourage the youngsters.”
Commando coach Wilson Kabango was pleased with the way his team played.
“I think the boys played according to instructions, beating the top team on the log it’s something good.
“It’s a morale booster and it shows we are going in the right direction.”
Troubled Royal Classic failed to travel to Kariba for their encounter against Lake Harvest.
Results
Mushowani 0, Flame Lilly 0; Blue Swallows 2, ZRP Morris 1; DStv Rangers 0, Karoi 1; Commando 2, Gunners 1; Starbill 1, Seven Flames 0; ZRP FC 1, Twalumba 0; DC Academy 2, Bindura 2; Chegutu 0, Ngezi Platinum 4.
Latest Log Standings
P W D L F A Pts
Flame Lilly 28 17 7 4 28 9 58
Gunners 28 16 9 3 38 14 57
Mushowani 28 16 7 5 34 15 55
Bindura Utd 28 14 7 7 25 19 49
Ngezi Ptm 28 13 7 8 31 16 46
Commando 28 11 12 5 27 19 45
ZRP FC 28 11 6 11 36 23 39
Karoi United 28 11 6 11 28 23 39
DC Academy 28 9 11 8 28 27 38
DStv Rangers 28 10 8 10 25 24 38
Starbill 27 11 4 11 26 28 37
Lake Harvest 27 10 3 14 29 34 33
Seven Flames 28 7 12 9 24 35 33
ZRP Morris 28 7 11 10 27 24 32
Swallows 28 7 8 13 18 23 29
Twalumba 28 4 9 15 12 31 22
Chegutu 27 7 4 16 14 38 22
Royal 27 2 3 22 13 61 9
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