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Ray Bande in MUTARE
Manica Diamonds . . . . . . . . . . . . (0) 2
Triangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(1) 1
CASTLE Lager Premiership football team of the moment Manica Diamonds cruised back to the top of the 16-team log standings when they dismissed a determined Triangle in an exciting Eastern Region derby at Sakubva yesterday.
Manica Diamonds had been on top of the table until the previous round of league matches when they were dislodged by Chicken Inn.
Both Manica Diamonds and Chicken Inn are tied on 16 points but the diamond miners are ahead, thanks to a superior goal difference.
However, in yesterday’s encounter, Manica Diamonds were a pale shadow of the attacking outfit they have been in previous matches.
Apart from their defence, which was well marshalled by the impressive and ageless captain Temba Ndlovu, Manica Diamonds lacked creativity in midfield while their strike-force remained starved of the balls, especially in the first half. In the very early stages of the encounter, Manica Diamonds started the match on the offensive, with Tichaona Mabvura, Charles Teguru and Nyasha Chintuli exhibiting some flashes of brilliance with a fine passing game in the middle of the park but somehow still failed to lay the last pass for their strikers.
The visitors also created some scoring opportunities and almost grabbed the lead in the 16th minute when Donald Ngoma connected a cross from the right but his effort went inches wide.
Triangle then made the most of a Manica Diamonds’ defensive gaffe in the 25th minute when an unmarked Simbarashe Verenga fired home from close-range.
Six minutes later, as Triangle continued controlling the game and piling on the pressure, slippery and forceful Gerald Bhero almost doubled the lead for the sugarcane growers when he latched onto a loose ball on the left side, charged towards goal and released a screamer from the edge of the box that slightly missed the target.
The hosts came back after the breather playing a purposeful game and their efforts were rewarded 10 minutes into the second half when Nyasha Chintuli tapped the ball home in a goalmouth melee to restore parity for the home side.
The Gem Boys, as Manica Diamonds are fondly known by their growing fan base in the eastern border city, went into the lead when a well positioned Pascal Manhanga, unmarked inside the penalty area, got to the end of a neat exchange of passes and shoved the ball home.
Interestingly, both Manhanga and Chintuli, born and raised in the eastern border city, are former Triangle players who helped destroy their former paymasters.
As the clock ticked towards full-time, Triangle tried but failed to breach the Manica Diamonds defence in search of an equaliser.
Desperate efforts to get a penalty out of virtually nothing saw Triangle top man Donald Ngoma literally throwing himself into Manica Diamonds defender Eriya Mafirenyika’s path but alert Rusape referee Brighton Chimene waved play on. Ngoma was shown a yellow card after the incident.
The home teach coach Johanisi Nhumwa praised his team for getting the result they badly wanted.
“We really wanted this win. It keeps us in a good position on the table and boosts our confidence going into the next encounter. Triangle are no easy opponents and they did well to contain us, especially in the first half of the match. We came back for the second half showing hunger and zeal to win the match. I am happy that we managed to do just that. We are now focusing on our next match,” said the Manica Diamonds gaffer, widely referred to as “The Dutch Mentor’’ in local football circles.
Triangle coach Jairos Tapera conceded defeat and praised his players for a good first half performance.
Online Reporter