Online Reporter
Lawrence Moyo
FORMER champions, Ngezi Platinum reclaimed pole position on the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League standings after a 2-1 win over CAPS United at Rufaro yesterday.
It was the fourth win in five starts and second big win at Rufaro for the unbeaten Ngezi Platinum, who ended Scottland’s good start at the same venue last month.
On the other hand, CAPS United dropped two places to third from bottom after their third defeat in five matches.
Ngezi Platinum had dropped to third place following Saturday’s matches where MWOS moved to the summit with a hard fought 1-0 win over ZPC Kariba at the Baobab while fellow newcomers Scottland had moved into second place after a comfortable 3-0 win over Bikita Minerals at Rufaro.
Obriel Chirinda put Ngezi Platinum ahead in the 40th minute while a beauty from Ashley Karengesha secured the points in the 72nd minute after CAPS United had equalised from a set-piece by Eric Manokore in the 68th minute.
Ngezi Platinum coach, Takesure Chiragwi praised his team for playing to instructions against a tough opponent but was not dwelling on the log standings.
“Its still too early to focus on being on top. We need to be consistent in terms of performance so let’s keep on working hard as a team.
“Playing CAPS United is not easy and that’s why they were coming to us. But we had prepared for that. The first 20 minutes were not good, but we managed to have that resistance and try to get the ball back. But the good thing is we managed to have counter attacks especially on those occasions we were not good in terms of ball retention.
“The last 15 minutes of the first half we were getting more of the ball. I knew what CAPS United would do in the second half and I told the guys not to defend deep. They kept on coming and got their equaliser.”
While those at Rufaro were stunned by Karengesha’s goal, Chirwagwi said it was something they see from him regularly at training.
“He always does that at training and today he managed to do it in the game, and we are happy for him, happy for everyone in the team and the supporters, management and sponsors.
CAPS United coach, Lloyd Chitembwe conceded that the players were lacking in confidence following bad results from previous matches.
“Naturally its disappointing to lose a football match considering that we were coming from a loss, which affects confidence. But in terms of performance, I am not really disappointed. What has been eluding us are victories and I understand the frustration of the fans, that’s a natural reaction.
“It’s a game we could have done better; it’s a game we could easily have managed well after equalising but unfortunately, we made a number of mistakes in defence. Its very important that we try and work on bouncing back,” said Chitembwe.
