adminMonomotapa, who enjoyed the lion’s share of possession from the first whistle, created numerous chances early in the first half but failed to convert them into goals.
Kuda Musharu, who grew up in Mtapa suburb just adjacent to Ascot Stadium, was the star of the afternoon as he single-handedly created most of the goal-scoring opportunities for his teammates who rewarded him by shooting wide or taking long to shoot.
Musharu, who gave Hardbody rightback Roy Useni a busy afternoon, spotted Ronald Chitiyo inside the box in the second minute but the young striker shot over the bar from close range.
A few minutes later Musharu roasted Useni before squaring a low cross for Russell Madamombe inside the box.
Madamombe shot wide under challenge from Andrew Chuma.
Musharu again turned provider for Chitiyo in the 27th minute but Chitiyo again failed to complement his partner’s effort when he missed a sitter inside the box.
Monomotapa continued piling pressure but the goals remained elusive and were nearly punished when Hardbody, in their only meaningful attack in the first half, broke on a counter-attack and Malvern Nyakabangwe swung in a cross which was well connected by Dumisani Mufudze but Monomotapa goalkeeper reacted well stretching to his right to punch the header back into play before it was cleared by an alert Morgen Mungombe.
After the breather Hardbody coach Godfrey Tamirepi brought in Jacob Muzokomba and the introduction of the former Lancashire and Highlanders striker rejuvenated Hardbody’s play as they began to create avenues into the Monomotapa defence.
The coach, however, lost the plot when he brought out Stephen Alimenda who was walking with a limp, for Callisto Maheya, and the move saw enterprising Muzokomba dropping deep into midfield in the end suffocating his team’s mini revival.
Hardbody coach Tamirepi, despite failing to utilise home advantage, was pleased with the draw.
“Of course we wanted to win but Monomotapa are a good side and they dominated the first half, so to me a draw is still a good result.
“In football you need to be content with what comes your way because at times results don’t come the way you want, we need to remain optimistic,” said Tamirepi.
His counterpart Biggie Zuze was also pleased with picking a point away from home considering that his team wasted a lot of chances and could have been punished.
Online Reporter