Online Reporter
Lawrence Moyo
MWOS coach Lloyd “Samaita” Mutasa has denied claims that the Premiership newcomers have benefitted from poor officiating in their last three matches in which they scrambled two home draws and an away win.
An 11-match unbeaten start to their debut PSL season has kept the punters top of the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League standings in a race where they are eight points from 10th placed Manica Diamonds.
However, there has been discussions around their last three matches in which they drew 1-1 at home to Manica Diamonds, won 1-0 against Chicken Inn at Luveve and then settled for a 2-2 draw at home to nine-man TelOne at Ngoni Stadium on Sunday.
Against Manica Diamonds, MWOS trailed to a 10th minute long range effort from Ask Rupande and equalised in the final 10 minutes of the game in which the visitors felt robbed of a second goal that would have won them the match.
In the following fixture, MWOS beat Chicken Inn 1-0 at Luveve but the hosts accused the match officials of denying them what they felt was a clear penalty.
At the weekend, MWOS trailed by two goals but settled for a 2-2 draw against a TelOne side that had Allan Chapinduka and Kudakwashe Nyakudanga red carded moments after they had missed a penalty.
Premiership topscorer, Washington Navaya missed a penalty that would have given TelOne a healthy 3-1 lead midway through the second half but in the ensuing action after the spot kick was saved, the visitors lost two key players.
MWOS eventually equalised for the crucial one point that kept them above fellow newcomers and their 2024 Northern Region Soccer League bitter rivals, Scottland.
The incidents at Ngoni Stadium on Saturday generated some discussions on social media but Mutasa believes part of interest comes from their current unbeaten run and position on the league standings.
“I am sure part of the problem is that we are just a small, new club in the Premier League and to be unbeaten and top of the log after 11 games is something very few expected. As a result, the focus on the team is more than other teams and, inevitably, you will have those that will try and look for reasons why we are still unbeaten.
“I do not think it is fair to suggest that we are where we are right now because of match officials because we have worked really hard and against odds to be there. I would rather focus on what I do best and that is to coach the players and leave officiating to those trained referees.
“As coaches we sometimes react emotionally without a proper appreciation of the incident and it, in turn, gets players and fans to feel that the officials got it wrong. The fortunate part is that most of our matches have been shown on TV and people can check for themselves if some of those decisions being questioned were wrong,” said Mutasa.
He added:
“When we played at Chicken Inn, I remember their assistant coach Tostao Kwashi initially felt that they deserved a penalty which could have earned them at least a point.
However, after watching the replays of the incident, he was man enough to admit there was nothing wrong with the referee’s decision.
Even the two red cards against TelOne, these are incidents that would carry such punishment at any venue and there is video evidence for anyone to see.
“In football we all make mistakes, and the only problem is when those mistakes are deliberate to the advantage of one team. For instance, a player can make a costly misplaced pass, and a coach can make a wrong substitution, and these are often genuine mistakes, and I believe even match officials go through the same. It only gets worrying if it is done deliberately.”
Looking back at the 2-2 draw against TelOne, Mutasa felt his charges were on the backfoot for much of the first half and it was always going to be difficult to win.
“The body language was not right and the slow start to the first half cost us. Things did not go well in the first half, and it was not helped by the fact that when you are top of the log everyone wants to bring you down and TelOne were determined to do that.
“They have a very experienced coach in Herbert Maruwa and the second goal gave them control of the game.
“When we spoke to the guys, we reminded them of our game at the same venue two years ago against Karoi United when we were trailing by two goals and ended up winning 3-2.
“We used that experience to inspire the guys to give it their all in the second half and when TelOne missed a penalty, coupled with the two red cards and fresh legs, we were able to snatch a point.”
