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Highlanders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (0) 1
AGAMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
HIGHLANDERS’ frailties were once again exposed as the Bulawayo giants left it in late on to secure victory over battling AGAMA in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League tie at Barbourfields yesterday.
Bosso wasted a glut of chances for much of the game in which they should have run out comfortable winners.
In the end a 92nd-minute goal from Royn Nyamono settled matters, sparing Bosso’s blushes after a wasteful afternoon in front of goal.
Nyamono’s speculative cross from the right flank dipped over AGAMA goalkeeper Wilson Brown to break the deadlock in stoppage time and secure Highlanders’ fifth win of the season.
The result moves Bosso to 25 points.
Highlanders dominated possession and created several clear chances but failed to convert.
Benjamin Adeogun, Mongameli Tshuma, Rainsome Pavari and substitute Isaac Ngoma all went close, with Ngoma hitting the woodwork in the second half.
The visitors’ goalkeeper, Brown, made a string of saves to keep the Mt Darwin outfit in the game.
Yet AGAMA had opportunities of their own in the first half after defensive lapses by Highlanders, but they also failed to take them.
Bosso coach Benjani Mwaruwari admitted his side made life difficult for themselves.
Mwaruwari was nonetheless happy to have still bagged maximum points.
“A win is a win, no matter how ugly or beautiful it comes,” Mwaruwari said after the match.
“We started brightly but it’s unfortunate we didn’t score more.
“If you start like that, you have to finish off teams. It’s always frustrating to create chances and miss them.
“However, at the end of the day, we finally got the goal.”
Mwaruwari said the three points were crucial despite the performance falling short of expectations.
AGAMA coach Godfrey Tamirepi said his side tried to frustrate Highlanders but paid the price for missed chances.
“Of course, we lost, but we tried to frustrate our opponents throughout the match.
“We could have gotten goals, but we kept missing and sometimes blasting our efforts over the bar,” Tamirepi said.
“It’s unfortunate we ended up conceding in that fashion.”
But as they head into the second and decisive phase of the championship marathon, Highlanders will be concerned by their lack of a cutting edge.
They have been carving out good scoring opportunities to close matches, but poor finishing has been their Achilles Heel.
Yesterday’s late goal spared them what would have been another costly slip-up at Barbourfields.
