adminIt was an exciting fiercely fought contest whose outcome was duly decided by the final whistle. But even up to that moment a goal could have come either way as both teams FC Platinum and Shabanie Mine, continued to give it their all.
The match attracted a fair crowd and tension in the terraces was evident.
Shabanie Mine, the longer established of the two with Premiership experience dating back to 2001 and claims to have been formed in 1914, had the lion’s share of the crowd. FC Platinum, formed in 1995, had their own fair share of supporters clad in the colourful green and yellow club replica jerseys.
The stage was set for a bruising battle with either side determined to be crowned the “big brother” after the match. Their first round Castle Lager league match ended 2-2 so there was so much to fight for given that a stalemate on Saturday could have led to penalties deciding the winners.
Derbies have at times been known to produce scrappy performances but in some instances some exciting football.
Saturday’s clash had both.
The match was played at a fast pace, with some good build ups from the back through the midfield.
There was a lot of goalmouth action and so many misses.
The afternoon’s highlight was the brilliant goalkeeping by both Tafadzwa Dube of FC Platinum and Victor Twaliki of Shabanie Mine.
It was resolute defending by both teams in the face of marauding opponents that kept the scoreline minimal but the match was indeed entertaining.
FC Platinum scored the only goal of the afternoon in the 10th minute through Donald Ngoma with a flashing header taken from the near post and directed towards the far post. It stunned the Shabanie Mine rearguard as they could not match Ngoma’s brilliance from what appeared a well-rehearsed drill as Ali Sadiki went on to send more such corner kick crosses that appeared to trouble their neighbours.
Ngoma undoubtedly one of the best forwards in the country and a surprise exclusion at the expense of overrated foreign-based players for the Angola game, was full of running, taking on defenders, holding onto the ball and setting up his opponents all afternoon. He eventually became a victim of crunch tackles and was forced off the pitch by injury to be replaced by Mitchelle Katsvairo.
Welcome Ndiweni, winner of the $ 500 man-of-the-match award toiled in midfield stopping many enemy raids and initiating attacks for his side ably supported by another grafter for the afternoon Thabani Kamusoko and the stylish Ali Sadiki whose unpredictable touches seemed to frustrate his opponents who resorted to rough play.
Zephaniah Ngodzo, Daniel Vheremu, Norman Togara and Qadr Amin were rock solid in defence against a marauding Shabanie whose quest for victory was spearheaded by the league’s top goalscorer Nelson Mazivisa and Tarisayi Rukanda.
Smart Muchabaiwa had a solid game at the heart of the asbestos miners’ defence while Raymond Sibanda played as if to prove a point to a team that discarded him that he was a good player after all.
In Zimbabwe, the Dynamos and Caps United derby is the biggest of them all. With Zimbabwe Saints’ fortunes having waned in the last two decades, none of the Bulawayo derbies have come close to the Harare teams’ fierce fight for honours.
In the past when Saints and Highlanders clashed, it was a game where stars were born and scars opened as one set of fans would head home hurt.
Even to this day people still talk about the 2000, 7-1 whacking of Zimbabwe Saints by Bosso, the two cup finals in 1988 between the two teams and many other games like the 4-0 drubbing of Highlanders in the 1976 Chibuku Trophy final.
The intensity of the rivalry on the field resembled clashes between Underhill and Border Strikers, Tripple B and Strikers FC in Beitbridge, the Iwisa and Rufaro Rovers and the Kabwe Warriors and Brazil Lwendulu and Makwika derbies respectively in Hwange and the famous Zvishavane clashes between Shabanie, Shushine and Mandava United.
In Africa, among the biggest derbies are the Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates in South Africa and the Aly Ahly and Zamalek in Egypt.
The Zvishavane Saturday’s match will be talked about for a while as it was indeed an epic battle and a spectacle to all those who appreciate good football.
So plentiful was goalmouth action that Dube and Twaliki endeared themselves to the paying public when they, on several occasions, went airborne to pluck what appeared definite goals to safety.
At times they saved by sheer luck with the horizontal bar coming to the rescue or the referees led by Batsirai Muchenje who had a good afternoon, ruling some attacks offside.
What added to the afternoon’s colour was that supporters from both teams who were clad in their teams’ colours, were vociferous as they cheered on their respective teams throughout the 90 minutes.
Meanwhile, players implicated in the Asiagate scandal went about their business as if nothing had happened.
Online Reporter