Dstv shock Bindura Utd

Ellina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
TEN-MAN DStv Rangers turned on the show to overcome a player crisis that rocked the club last week and beat pacesetters Bindura United 1-0 in a World Navi Northern Region Division One soccer league match at Old Hararians on Saturday. A goal by substitute Boss Chingandari was all the home team needed to collect maximum points. Chingandari came in for leftback Douglas Tsiga in the second half and lived up to expectations as he found the target in the 73rd minute.

Rangers had been reduced to 10 men with 30 minutes to go before the end of the match after Tichaona Mugadza was sent off for a second bookable offence.

It seems the Harare side have found the right chords having started their campaign on the wrong footing and Saturday’s victory was a deserved one as coach Ikabort Masocha seeks to take the team to a respectable position come the end of season.

Masocha, who was missing most of his players on Saturday, was a happy man and commended his charges for their effort.
“Generally, the boys played well and I am very happy they responded positively because those that we chose to do the duty worked hard for one another and it made life easier for them to control the proceedings of the day.

“In the last minutes we played with 10 players but they managed to hold on and got a full set of points,” said Masocha.
The defeat means Bindura have lost four points in their last two games after having been held to a goalless draw by Commando the week before.
And for a team that would have wanted to stretch their lead at the top of the table, it comes as a huge disappointment.

In other matches, Seven Flames surprised favourites Mushowani Stars when they beat them 1-0 in their own backyard at Afdis.
The victory saw them moving three places up the ladder to position 13 while Mushowani dropped from second place to third position.
Nesbert “Yabo” Saruchera’s Flame Lilly are now occupying second position after beating Royal Classic 2-0.

Chegutu Pirates also had a good day on the pitch, beating Karoi United 1-0 despite the boardroom problems that have been haunting the club with players boycotting training last week for three days ahead of that game.

However, the win did not change much in terms of their position as they remained second from the bottom after some of the teams such as Seven Flames that had been sitting on the bottom half won their matches.

Results
Commando 1, Ngezi Platinum 1; Dstv Rangers 1, Bindura 0; Blue Swallows 2, Twalumba 0; Mushowani 0, Seven Flames 1; Flame Lilly 2, Royal Classic 0; ZRP Morris 0, Gunners 0; Starbill 3, Black Mambas 2; Lake Harvest 1, DC Academy 0; Chegutu 1, Karoi 0.

Log Standings
P    W    D    L    F    A    Pts
Bindura United    12    9    1    2    14    6    28
Flame Lilly     12    8    2    2    13    4    26
Mushowani    12    8    1    3    20    9    25
Gunners    12     7    4    1    13    6    25
Black Mambas    12    5    2    5    19    9    17
Ngezi Platinum    12    5    2    5    15    9    17
Lake Harvest     12    5    2    5    12    13    17
DC Academy    12    4    4    4    12    9    16
Blue Swallows    12    4    4    4    11    10    16
Twalumba    12    4    4    4    10    9    16
Starbill    12    4    4    3    11    11    16
DStv Rangers    12    3    5    4    7    7    14
Seven Flames    12    3    4    5    12    22    13
Commando    12    2    6    4    9    11    12
Karoi United     12    3    3    6    9    12    12
ZRP Morris    12    2    5    5    5    11    11
Chegutu Pirates    12    2    3    7    5    15    9
Royal Classic    12    2    0    10    7    31    6