Online Reporter
ZDF Select 1 -1 ZRP Byo Province, (ZDF Select crowned champions after winning 6–5 on penalties)
Fungai Muderere at White City Stadium
A sudden death penalty shootout settled the Defence Forces Day clash at White City Stadium yesterday, with the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) Select side edging Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Bulawayo Province 6–5 after a 1–1 draw in regulation time.
The packed crowd saw ZRP take the lead through Mgcini Mpofu before Mike Dube hit back for the army side, captained by Gracious Muleya, before halftime.
In the tense shootout, Muleya, Mcebisi Ngwenya, Thandazani Dube, Vincent Mapuranga, Garffied Ndlovu and Tawanda Matambo converted for ZDF, with only Dube missing. ZRP replied through Witness Zuze, Anesu Saiti, Washing Mungadze, Frank Shumba and Shane Tirimboyi, but misses from Nkanyiso Sibanda and Batinos Makwira proved costly, handing the trophy and gold medals to the soldiers.
ZDF head coach Philip Nyakufaringwa, admitted his team rode their luck.
“All I can say is it was a game of two halves. We conceded first and after we stabilised our defence we got the equaliser. We won through penalties and I think we were very lucky because it’s never easy to win in such a way,” he said amid celebrations.
ZRP coach Nathan Marime was gracious in defeat.
“It was a competitive game, we lost to a better side. It helped us a lot as a training match while we prepare for other tournaments. It came so quickly,” he said.
Before kickoff, President Mnangagwa, in a speech read by Bulawayo Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Judith Ncube, urged the Zimbabwe Defence Forces to remember the sacrifices that won the country’s independence.
“The agonising suffering inflicted by the brutal racist colonial regime and the protracted war of liberation is etched in our national memory.
Likewise, nationalists and freedom fighters endured treacherous environments and situations, including fighting many battles, detention, imprisonment and restrictions. Many died in ruthless massacres, while others lie in marked and unmarked graves, here at home and in the region,” said the President.
This year’s celebrations ran under the theme “Zimbabwe Defence Forces: Guaranteeing Peace and Stability for the Attainment of Vision 2030.”
@FungaiMuderere
