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Paul Mundandi in Zvishavane
FC Platinum….. (0)2
Harare City………..0
FC Platinum kept their title hopes alive when they reduced the gap to two points after beating Harare City at Mandava Stadium yesterday.
The miners got their all important goals from Nigel Papius in the 55th minute and a Marshall Mudehwe strike in the 66th minute.
The win was sweet music to the platinum family following a last minute draw by Chicken Inn at Ascot Stadium where the Gamecocks failed to beat struggling Whawha.
“It was a massive win for us. We needed the three points badly and our focus now is to collect nine points from the remaining three games and see what happens at the end of the season. My boys were under pressure when news filtered that Chicken Inn had drawn but we managed to talk to them at half time where I urged them to be focused on our match and forget about the Chicken Inn result,’’ said Mapeza after the match.
Papius rose from the bench to score his first goal in FC Platinum colours. Man of the match Obrey Chirwa dribbled past three Harare City defenders and sent a pass to the short stocky gifted forward who was lurking in the box. His effort from the right boot whistled past veteran goalkeeper Tafadzwa Dube who only managed to retrieve the ball from the nets.
Mudehwe returned to haunt the visitors in the 66th minute. It was again a spirited effort from Chirwa who shrugged his markers on the right and sent a pass to Mudehwe who was far on the right. The hard running striker responded with a shot that went past Dube.
His effort, however, looked more like a cross but Dube who should shoulder the blame for the goal was not covering his post.
The goal took all the zeal from Harare City as FC Platinum dominated play.
“We gave away two silly goals from defensive errors. I feel (Tafadzwa) could have avoided the second goal but he was not covering his post but such is football. Platinum played better and all we need to do is to try and get maximum points from the remaining matches so that we finish the season at a respectable position,” said Taurai Mangwiro, the Harare City gaffer.
Teams
FC Platinum: P Mhari, K Moyo(S Shoko 56 minutes ),E Moyo, G Bello, W Mhango, I Nekati, T Dzumbunu, E Mandiranga (N Papius 49th ), O Chirwa, M Mudehwe, G Takwara
Harare City: T Dube, G Chimwemwe, A Chivheya, T Ndlovu, C Dickson, J Jam, T Samanja, W Manondo, K Kumwala (A Murimba 58 minutes),T Chawapihwa (B Maglasi 68 minutes) F Zekumbawira (O Mukuradare 64 minutes)
Online Reporter