adminHow Mine……………………………………………………. 0
Harare City………………………………………………..… 0
HOW Mine FC and a 10-man Harare City shared the spoils in a lukewarm Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match played at Luveve Stadium in Bulawayo yesterday afternoon.
Harare City ended the match with 10-man after James Jam was shown a straight red card by referee, Makonese Masakadza following a crude tackle on Wonder Sithole in the 73rd minute but How Mine failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage.
The match was evenly balanced between the two sides as action swung from one end to the other but the goal proved elusive for both sides despite numerous chances the two teams created.
How Mine upped the ante with the dismissal of Jam but they could not breach the Harare City defence although substitute Benjami Marere came close to breaking the deadlock in the 90th minute, his shot from just outside the penalty area went over the bar.
Harare City coach Bigboy Mawiwi was happy to collect their first away point as his side now sit on seven points from 10 games.
Mawiwi expressed frustration with the refereeing, saying he felt Jam should not have been red-carded.
“I think the referee was too far away to have had a clear view of that tackle. Without taking anything away from How Mine, I think the match officials’ performance could have been better. However, both sides gave a good account of themselves and although in the second half we had found rhythm and could have created a goal, Jam’s dismissal put us on the back foot and saw us struggling to attack,” he said.
The stalemate was Harare City’s first as they had lost seven games and won two, coming into the game.
Mawiwi, however, said they were no longer struggling and had improved their game after starting the league on a bad note by losing their first six matches.
“I think the positive is that we collected our first away point since the league started,” he said.
How Mine coach Philani Ncube felt it was not their day and walking away with a point was better than nothing.
“The PSL break could have affected us but that is not an excuse, we just have to go back and prepare for the next game and hope we can walk away with the maximum points. They (Harare City) did not have any pressure and had nothing to lose, and being one-man short does not necessarily translate into an advantage for the opposing side, particularly when the game is a stalemate,” said Ncube.
Teams
How Mine: E Mazarura, G Banda, B Dube, X Moyo (G Nguwodzawo, 54th), M Mupera, T January, K Musharu, E Muzanenhamo, W Sithole (B Marere, 78th), G Magariro, J Chitereki
Harare City: M Nyamupangadengu, T Chiworeso, A Chivheya, D Kutyauripo, N Diro, T Chawapihwa (T Mamvura, 81st), W Manondo (C Muvuti, 56th), M Vengesayi, O Mukuradare (A Murimba, 65th) N Ziwini, J Jam.
Online Reporter