DREAM START FOR MWOS

Bruce Chikuni, Sports Reporter

MWOS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  (0) 1

Highlanders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0

 IT was a dream start to the Castle Lager Premiership for newcomers MWOS who could not have asked for a better way to announce their arrival after edging Highlanders in their league opener at Baobab yesterday.

MWOS started strongly, nearly scoring the opener but Innocent Zambezi’s effort sailed over the bar in the 11th minute.

They came close again through Tafadza George, who failed to direct his header three minutes later.

Highlanders forward Brighton Ncube missed a golden opportunity in the 20th minute, taking too long to hit the target despite dribbling past goalkeeper Martin Mapisa.

That moment sparked a sense of urgency in Bosso, who briefly asserted their dominance.

However, the hosts soon regained control and forward Salif Cheya failed to fire the Punters ahead, with only the goalkeeper to beat, in the 30th minute.

Cheya broke the deadlock with a 61st-minute strike, capitalising on goalkeeper Rafael Pitisi’s dreadful error, following his failed attempt to show off his dribbling skills.

Prince Ndlovu recorded Bosso’s first shot on target in the 63rd minute, but Mapisa was untroubled.

George thought he had found the second goal from range, but his effort went inches wide five minutes later.

MWOS’ Nigel Matina ran the show with exciting dribbles, keeping fans on the edge of their seats for most of the game.

Bosso coach, Kelvin Kaindiu attributed the loss to a poor pre-season.

“It was not a good start for us, we did not have a good pre-season. I think you all saw even the way we played.

“We are going to try to use these early games to condition ourselves and I think we conceded a soft goal,” said Kaindu.

His counterpart Lloyd Mutasa felt his troops could have even won with a bigger margin.

“It is still work in progress and I have to give credit to the players for a spirited fight, it is not easy to beat Highlanders any day.

“With a little bit of luck, we could have scored more than two goals but we are just grateful with what we managed, it is something which we can work on,” said Mutasa.