Hwange wallop Jamhuri

A wasteful Hwange comfortably cruised into the Caf Confederations Cup first round with a demolition show of their Zanzibar counterparts after a preliminary round second leg tie played before a packed Colliery Stadium yesterday.
The coalminers carried a healthy 3-0 advantage after having taught their little-known opponents a free football lesson in their own backyard a fortnight ago.
Had Hwange been more lethal in front of goal yesterday, the scoreline could have been higher as Jamhuri were missing in action from the first whistle by Botswana referee Leso Kutlwano.
Just after five minutes Hwange had the first questions as lanky defender David Borowondo completely missed the ball in front of a yawning goal as he attempted to connect a curling Munyaradzi Mungadze corner kick.
Three minutes later big striker Allan Tavarwisa followed that up with a glaring miss after he had pounced on a spill by the visitors’ goalminder Jaffar Said Talib who failed to deal with a harmless looking effort by Hwange’s Ocean Mpofu. 
To their credit the visitors had a crack at goal after 10 minutes when Iddi Ramadan Salim shrugged off a challenge by Eric Chipeta on the edge of the box to release a snap shot which found agile Hwange goalkeeper Petros Mhari alert.
In the 24th minute the hosts’ script of missed chances continued when Nkosana Siwela, who had a quiet afternoon by his standards, latched on to a loose ball at the edge of the box only to direct his effort to the skies.
There was however no denying two minutes later for Tavarwisa who scrambled the ball into the back of the nets in a goalmouth melee after the Jamhuri rearguard failed to deal with a Tonisani Sibelo in-swinger.
The coalminers continued to harass their opponents but chance after chance went begging with Tavarwisa and Fransisco Zvikumbawire being the main culprits.
The Hwange fans’ frustrations over missed opportunities were calmed by captain Rodwell Chinyengetere who doubled the hosts’ advantage at the stroke of halftime by complementing Siwela’s dazzling artistry on the left flank through connecting the dreadlocked midfielder’s sitter into the back of the nets.
Hardly a minute after the breather Jamhuri found themselves 3-0 down after Hwange’s most outstanding player of the afternoon, Mpofu, almost tore the nets with a ferocious 30-metre freekick which left the goalkeeper rooted on the same spot.
It was over for the team from Zanzibar and from the goal they simply decided to turn the game into a kick-boxing contest with some needless flying tackles which saw Ali Othman Mmanga and Steiman Ali Nuhu being shown yellow cards by a rather lenient Kutlwano.
More misery was to follow for Jamhuri as they conceded another goal in the 72nd minute after Mpofu completed his double with a lovely lob past an outdrawn Jaffar Said Talib to leave the home fans in a delirium.
The hosts however put their foot off the pedal and this allowed the visitors the opportunity to grab a consolation goal in the 84th minute through the boot of Ali Nuhu.
This was after substitute Oscar Lungu gifted the visitors with an early Christmas present when his blind pass was intercepted by Mmanga who quickly released Nuhu who obliged by making no mistake from close range.
There was another chance for Chinyengetere at the death of the game but the midfielder’s powerful shot missed the left upright with the goalkeeper diving in vain.
Hwange have sharpened their daggers for their next opponents El Amal from Sudan at the weekend of 23-25 March and Hwange assistant coach Nation Dube said the team was ready for the challenge.
“We are happy to have qualified for the next round which we know would be tougher against the Sudanese. We will play to get a result in the first match so as to have an edge in the                   return leg.
“Today the boys were very wasteful and I think it’s because of the psychological advantage we carried from the first game but overall we are pleased as a team,” he said after the game.
His opposite number Renatus Shija chose to lay the blame on fatigue on the 100km distance from their base in Victoria Falls when his lads had in actual fact performed badly from their doorsteps two weeks ago.
“My boys were tired after the trip from Victoria Falls and it contributed towards their performance. I am disappointed because it had a bearing on our show today,” he said.
TEAMS
Hwange: P Mhari, T Sibelo, M Mungadze, E Chipeta, D Boriwondo, O Mpofu (O Lungu 72nd minute), F Vimisai, R Chinyengetere, F Zvikumbawire, A Tavarwisa, N Siwela (M Longwe 66th minute).
Jamhuri: J Talib, O Mustafa (M Shafban47th minute), M Said, H Said, M Masoud, J Mmanga, B Futo, S Nuhu, A Mmanga, I Salim (A Mjaka 60th minute), A Ali (M Suleiman 62nd minute)
Officials: Referees: Leso Kutlwano, Medupe Meshack, Monakwane Moernedi (all Botswana) Fourth official: Norman Matemera
Match commissioner: George Boodhoo (South Africa)
Estimated attendance: 2 000.