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Ray Bande in Mutare
Manica Diamonds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1) 2
GreenFuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (0)
MANICA Diamonds returned to the summit of the Castle Lager Premiership log standings, thanks to a well-deserved 2-0 triumph over fellow Manicaland-based outfit, GreenFuel at Sakubva Stadium yesterday.
The result also meant that GreenFuel’s new head coach Saul Chamunika endured defeat twice at the hands of Manica Diamonds two weeks after he left Bikita Minerals, a few days after a 1-0 loss for the new-comers.
Yesterday’s match was a tale of missed scoring opportunities for the greater part of the first half with both teams guilty of lacking the cutting edge in front of goal. The visitors could have easily surged ahead in the 12th minute when exciting midfielder Anelka Chiwandire set up a rightly positioned Tinotenda Meke, but the latter directed his effort way of the target.
In the 33rd minute, Manica Diamonds had a clear-cut scoring opportunity when GreenFuel goalminder Tapiwa Chilenga parried the ball o nto an unmarked Charles Teguru’s feet, but the pint-sized winger’s weak shot was easily dealt with by the GreenFuel defence.
However, the hosts finally took the lead in the 37th minute when centre forward Tawanda Macheke got to the end of a counter-attack and slotted home from close range.
In the 56th minute, with a little bit of luck, Manica Diamonds could have extended their lead after slippery Michael Tapera was hacked down by Adrian Silla, and from the set piece, left-back Farai Banda’s blistering shot missed the target by a few inches. The home team created yet another scoring opportunity two minutes later but greed got the better of Macheke as he attempted but failed to score from a tight angle at a time when unmarked Tapera and Kudzanai Dhemere were clamouring for the ball while facing a yawning net.
The home team then put the game beyond the reach of their opponents when late second-half substitute Bret Amidu, with his first touch of the ball, intercepted a blind pass from Silla and charged towards goal before placing the ball in the right corner of the net, leaving goalkeeper Tapiwa Chilenga a well-beaten man.
After the match, Manica Diamonds coach Jairos Tapera praised his boys for a job well done. “I think this is exciting for us as a club. This is exactly what we wanted from the onset, to collect as many points as we can with each passing match. I am happy for my boys for making us proud. We deserved to win this encounter because of the way we played.”
GreenFuel assistant coach Taurai Mangwiro felt his team could have done better if they had utilised the scoring chances that they created.
“I think we played well as a team and managed to create some scoring opportunities, but somehow, we failed to convert. We were duly punished for that. We had moments that we were in control of this match and we could have easily won in the first half, but we were just not lucky,” he said.
Yesterday
CAPS United 1-1 Dynamos
Chicken Inn 3-2 Simba Bhora
Manica Diamonds 2-0 GreenfFuel
Saturday
Arenel Movers 0-2 Yadah
Bikita Minerals 2-1 Chegutu Pirates
FC Platinum 3-1 Hwange
Herentals 2-0 Bulawayo Chiefs
Ngezi Platinum 2-0 TelOne
ZPC Kariba 1-1 Highlanders
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