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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE Castle Lager Premier Soccer League has become unpredictable, with Chicken Inn and Dynamos surprising all and sundry by collecting maximum points on the road against tough opponents.
Chicken Inn, who have been plagued by inconsistency in their title charge, recovered from last weekend’s frustrating 0-0 home draw against Black Rhinos to dismantle Caps United 3-1 at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.
On the other hand, Dynamos put up a solid performance to hand FC Platinum their second defeat of the season, a 0-1 loss at Mandava Stadium. Jarison Selemani scored the goal that gave DeMbare their first victory over FC Platinum at Mandava in seven years.
Chicken Inn striker Clive Augusto’s hat-trick powered the Game Cocks to maximum points and propelled them to the top of the table from third place. They are tied on 22 points with Caps United, but have a superior goal difference.
Joey Antipas, the Chicken Inn gaffer, wants his side to take charge of the title race.
“What’s good is that we managed to recover from a frustrating game against Black Rhinos and went to Harare with a positive mind. It’s self-belief that is driving the boys and I’ll be happy if we keep our feet on the ground and try to maintain consistency. The title race is a marathon and there are going to be lots of twists and turns, but we just have to keep improving with every game,” said Antipas.
The title race is an open affair, with Chapungu and Black Rhinos, who are tied on 18 points, within the championship matrix, as they are four points behind Chicken Inn.
While Caps United and FC Platinum choked, Highlanders were the only team that managed to collect maximum points for a second consecutive weekend, beating ZPC Kariba 2-0 at Barbourfields Stadium.
The victory saw Bosso moving out of the relegation zone for the first time this season into 14th place with 11 points from 10 games.
Bosso had a slow start to the season, but appear to be getting better with their players’ confidence levels rising to beat their bogey side ZPC Kariba.
Wingers Ray Lunga and Cleopas Kapupurika, who were introduced when Highlanders grabbed their first win of the season against TelOne, were lively and kept ZPC Kariba defenders on their toes.
Goalkeeper Ariel Sibanda scored from the penalty spot to take his goal tally to two, while Tinashe Makanda’s thunderbolt sealed the three points.
Triangle United brought their five-match winless streak to an end by beating Mushowani Stars 2-1 at home. The last time Triangle had recorded victory was on April 22 when they beat Highlanders 1-0 at Barbourfields Stadium.
They went on to lose to Chapungu, Black Rhinos, Caps United and Harare City before drawing 1-1 against Bulawayo Chiefs.
Victory against Mushowani is certainly relief for Triangle coach Tawurayi Mangwiro, who has been feeling the heat.
Coal miners Hwange’s wheels appear to be falling off after suffering their fourth consecutive defeat, a 3-0 drubbing by Harare City. Hwange have fallen from topping the league table at one point into 11th place with 13 points.
Online Reporter