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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
TSHOLOTSHO’S title aspirations took a knock after they were held to a goalless draw by Southern Region Division One Soccer League anchors ZRP Bulawayo.
Tsholotsho, who are second on the table, went into the weekend trailing log leaders Hwange by three points, but the coalminers extended their lead at the top by five points after clobbering Makomo 4-2 in a Hwange derby to take their points’ tally to 42.
ZRP Bulawayo, who have 14 points, lived to their pre-match vow of spoiling the party for Tsholotsho.
“Like I said before the game, we never go to war to lose. We wanted maximum points, but I think a point is okay as we work on getting out of the relegation quagmire,” said Rodgers Ndlovu, ZRP Bulawayo coach.
Tsholotsho coach Joseph Sibindi was happy with the point and felt the bumpy Ross Camp surface, which he described as a “potato field”, affected their play.
“We missed lots of chances especially in the first half where we should have buried them. The surface also affected our play because we couldn’t play our normal passing game on a potato field. I’m not making excuses about dropping points because all the teams will play there and will see what I’m talking about,” said Sibindi.
Hwange ensured they firmed their grip on top spot, scoring four goals against Makomo through veteran striker Gilbert Zulu, midfielder Canaan Nkomo and a brace by former Njube Sundowns midfielder Innocent Ndlovu. Makomo’s scorers were Joseph Museve and Morgan Mungombe.
Championship dark horses ZPC Hwange and Indlovu Iyanyathela won their respective games 1-0 against NRZ Leopards and 3-1 over Zim Leopards.
Fanuel Shoko scored the solitary goal for third on the table ZPC Hwange in Dete to take their points’ tally to 34.
Indlovu Iyanyathela put up a stellar performance against a determined Zim Leopards, who they punished for being wasteful. Indlovu Iyanyathela’s scorers were Ricaldo Sibanda, Thulani Mzavozvo and Linton Mathe, while Kudzai Chipunza got the face saver for Zim Leopards.
Results
Saturday: Makomo 2-4 Hwange, Main Line 1-0 Toronto, CIWU 2-0 Casmyn, Indlovu Iyanyathela 3-1 Zim Leopards, Moto Moto 3-1 Mosi Rovers, ZRP Bulawayo 0-0 Tsholotsho
Sunday: NRZ Leopards 0-1 ZPC Hwange
Table
P W D L F A GD Pts
Hwange 19 13 4 2 36 12 24 43
Tsholotsho 19 10 8 1 21 9 12 38
ZPC Hwange 19 9 7 3 18 9 9 34
I/Iyanyathela 1 8 9 6 3 28 14 14 33
Bosso 90 19 8 6 5 20 14 6 30
Talen Vision 19 7 7 5 23 15 8 28
Makomo 18 7 6 5 23 22 1 27
CIWU 19 6 8 5 20 18 2 25
Moto Moto 1 8 5 8 6 15 15 0 23
Mosi Rovers 19 6 2 11 20 28 -8 20
Casmyn 19 5 5 9 12 21 -9 20
Main Line 19 5 3 11 13 25 -14 18
Toronto 19 2 11 6 9 17 -8 17
Zim Leopards 19 4 5 10 14 27 -13 17
NRZ Leopards 18 3 5 10 11 23 -12 14
ZRP Bulawayo 19 3 4 12 10 24 -14 14
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