adminWASTEFUL Chicken Inn had to come from behind to beat Monomotapa in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League encounter at Luveve yesterday marred by controversy.
The home team’s winner, which came three minutes from time, was a controversial one with the visitors’ disputing the referee’s call to award the hosts a penalty.
To add to the confusion, the referee’s assistant had indicated that Monomotapa should get a free-kick from the incident but the referee ordered a penalty to be taken.
It was a tough call against the visitors who had tested Chicken Inn’s defence, which had skipper Felix Chindungwe, Guide Goddard, Moses Jackson and Brian Mbiriri, for
long periods before resorting to shooting from distance.
It was from range that they got their goal.
Former national Under-20 midfielder Russel Madamombe, who is enjoying a good run, gave Monomotapa the lead in the 58th minute with a spectacular long-range shot that beat Chicken Inn goalkeeper Njabulo Nyoni who had stretched full stretch.
Madamombe’s goal could as well be a contender for the Goal of the Season award, if there is anything like that, in this Premiership.
He shrugged off his marker before firing a left-footed volley that had quality written all over it.
The Gamecocks never gave up, though, equalising through Tendai Mukambi nine minutes before the end of the game.
Mukambi tapped the ball into an empty net after being set up by Evans Chikwaikwai.
Chikwaikwai had received a long pass from defender Goddard before rounding Monomotapa’s goalkeeper Artwell Mukandi and unselfishly passed the ball to a better
positioned Mukambi who hit the back of the net. In the 87th minute Chicken Inn were awarded a penalty, a decision that was hotly contested by the Monomotapa
players.
This was after Chicken Inn’s substitute Makhosi Ncube appeared to have been pulled down by Knowledge Machona as he was going for a ball in the box and in the process they collided with ‘keeper Mukandi.
Online Reporter