GAMECOCKS SLIDE INTO CHAOS

Fungai Muderere

Zimpapers Sports Hub

WITH their 2025 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League campaign already teetering on the edge of crisis, Chicken Inn’s top brass say they’re staying calm, at least for now.

Following a dismal 1-0 home defeat to new boys MWOS at Luveve on Sunday, the club’s secretary general Tavengwa Hara insists the former champions won’t be pressing any panic buttons as they gather today for a crucial internal review meeting.

“We think there is no need for us to panic. Tomorrow (today) we are going to have our review meeting of the 10 games we have played. Yes, we have not had a good start but we say it’s work in progress,” said Hara.

“We haven’t started well but it’s part of the game. We are very much optimistic for better results. We have capable players and a sound technical team,” he added.

Chicken Inn’s struggles have been glaring.

With just one win, six draws and three defeats from their opening 10 matches, the Gamecocks are stuck in 12th place with nine points, a staggering 13 adrift of high-flying MWOS, who now sit comfortably at the summit.

On Sunday, the club were undone by a moment of magic from MWOS midfielder Nigel Matinha, whose curling first time effort from outside the box left veteran goalkeeper Donovan Bernard stranded.

The strike was the product of exquisite interplay between Billy Veremu and Malvern Mudzuka, whose quick exchange sliced through Chicken Inn’s defence like a hot knife through butter.

From kickoff, MWOS exuded the swagger of a team on the rise, controlling tempo, connecting passes, and dictating play with poise.

Chicken Inn, by contrast, looked heavy legged and disjointed, failing to impose themselves in the first half and rarely threatening thereafter.

After the match, MWOS coach Lloyd Mutasa praised his players for grinding out the result, despite retreating too deep in the second half.

“We were playing against a good side and I’m happy that from the few chances we had, we managed to convert one,” said Mutasa. “Our goal remains survival. That’s the mission.”

But in the Chicken Inn dugout, tempers flared.

First assistant coach Fungai “Tostao” Kwashi was visibly fuming over what he described as questionable officiating.

“We have to keep working hard and try to get the goals coming,” said Kwashi. “I won’t mention names, but some of the decisions made out there do nothing for Zimbabwean football.

“It’s turning into a skit. Where are we going as a football nation?”

The pressure is now mounting on head coach Joey Antipas.

A slow start is one thing, but a continued slide could see Chicken Inn’s season spiral into chaos.

Whether today’s review meeting sparks a turnaround or merely adds more heat to the pressure cooker remains to be seen.