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Tadious Manyepo-Sports Reporter
HERENTALS Under-20 coach Paul Benza has saluted his charges’ endurance after they once again collected maximum points on the road to keep a tight grip at the top of the Northern Region Division One Soccer League standings.
The Students were made to work but all the same managed to walk out victorious with man-of-the-moment Salif Cheya grabbing the goal that downed CUMA at Rimuka on Saturday.
They took their points tally to 46 to maintain a three-point advantage over both their closest pursuers Simba Bhora and Golden Eagles who all secured comfortable home wins.
Simba Bhora, who are second because of a superior goal difference, were at their ruthless best when dismantling Tojan Stars 4-0 in a Mashonaland Central derby that attracted a full house at Wadzanai while Golden Eagles thrashed Cam & Motor 3-1 at Ellis Robins.
But it is Herentals who got all the plaudits given the match against CUMA was their fourth away tie in five weeks.
They have been at Rimuka thrice against Golden Valley, Cam & Motor as well as CUMA with all the games finishing in their favour.
They have also been to Mhondoro-Ngezi where they narrowly beat Ngezi Platinum Under-19.
Their only home match in the past five weeks came against Chinhoyi Stars whom they outplayed 5-0 at Motor Action.
And Benza is not blaming anyone for the away fixture pile-up but he has been blown away by the way his players have performed, winning five games on the trot.
“The games have been taxing, the travelling and the environments of passionate people supporting their teams meant we had to be at our best mentally and physically.
“It feels good to win the highly competitive games but we are not relaxing. The competition in the league is very tough. Every team should be respected and we ought to even up our game,” said Benza.
Meanwhile, two suspended match-day 19 fixtures, including the potentially-explosive tie between Simba Bhora and Golden Eagles, have been scheduled for August 7.
The other match features Ngezi Under-19 and Cam & Motor.
The game between Simba Bhora and Golden Eagles was supposed to be staged at Ellis Robins last month but the NRSL decided to postpone that tie following the tragic passing on of Simba Bhora player Barnabas Mushunje in a horrific car accident two days before the match.
And The Ngezi Platinum tie against Cam & Motor was postponed after a Covid-19 scare in the former’s camp.
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Region Division One, GreenFuel marched closer to promotion with a routine 4-0 win over Zaka Academy to maintain a nine-point gap at the summit.
With just eight games to play, the Lloyd “Samaita” Mutasa team are now just four wins away from coronation.
In the Central Region, Sheasham stretched their lead at the top to seven following their massive 6-0 win over Bishopstone on Saturday while second-placed TelOne dropped key points in their 1-1 draw against Loss Control.
The heat is still on for Hwange who lead the Southern Region League with just three points as Arenel are hot on their heels.
Online Reporter