Chronicle Editor
Onward Gangata in Gweru
ZIFA Central Region Soccer League side Tongogara kept their hopes of a return to the domestic top-flight alive with a slender 1-0 win over Chapungu on Saturday.
The army completed a double over the airmen at the Josiah Tungamirai Airbase.
Shelton Mhaka scored the solitary goal in the second half to keep the army side within touching distance of log leaders Kwekwe United. Tongogara remain second on the log with 50 points, five adrift of Kwekwe United.
Crucially for the former Premiership side, the victory over Chapungu takes out their nemesis out of the equation, although the Gweru-based outfit still has a mathematical chance of winning promotion.
Chapungu are third and a distant 12 points behind the leaders, leaving Tongogara and Kwekwe United as the two front runners for the sole ticket to the Premier Soccer League (PSL).
Tongogara coach, Calvin Maphosa, reckons his team now needs to win all its remaining matches to stand a chance of clinching the title.
“All we have to do is win our remaining games so that we are there,” he said.
The army side has over the past couple of years played bridesmaids in the race for promotion, having done so in 2017, when they were runners-up to Nichrut.
They also finished second in 2018 and 2023, on both occasions losing out to TelOne.
With seven rounds of matches left before the curtain comes down, Maphosa feels belief is high in the squad that this could be their year.
“The first thing is that the guys are now believing because we are winning and we have to keep on winning to keep that belief in the squad,” added Maphosa.
Elsewhere, Kwekwe United retained their stranglehold of pole position with a 1-0 victory over West Nicholson at the Ziscosteel Club on Saturday.
Results at a glance
Black Eagles 3-0 Wangu Mazodze City (walkover), Dulibadzimu 3-2 Shabanie, Gokwe North 0-0 Sheasham, Dinson Mvuma 2-0 Bishopstone, Beitbridge UTD 1-0 Blanket Mine, FC Platinum U19 2- 1 MSU
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