Whawha bounce back

Lovemore Zigara Midlands Correspondent
Whawha 1-0 Hwange
PREMIERSHIP new boys Whawha finally got it right when they overcame Hwange in a dull Castle Lager Premiership encounter at Ascot Stadium yesterday.

A Kenneth Buka strike two minutes into the second half was enough to seal the prison warders their third win of the season. The match was a dull affair but the result was all that Lloyd Mutasa needed to breathe a sigh of relief after going for three consecutive matches without a win.

“After going for three matches without a win, we obviously needed to get a win. I’m glad we managed to get this win and also that we managed to score after failing in our last matches. We now need to be consistent home and away. We hope that this win brings the consistency that we need going forward,” said Mutasa.

Hwange coach Nation Dube conceded defeat but was left fuming over what he termed poor match officiating that he felt swayed in favour of the home team.

Dube alleged that some decisions by Kwekwe referee Munyaradzi Majoni sapped the zeal out of his players.

“I’m pleased with the way we played although I’m not happy with the officiating. I don’t want to talk about referees but I also feel that there are some decisions which went against us like when our player, who was going for the kill, was pulled back but the referee didn’t give even a verbal warning,” said Dube.

The match started on a low tempo without any chances being created.

The first meaningful chance was created in 27th minute when former Hwange player Oscar Lungu weaved past a cluster of Hwange defenders on the right side before unleashing a low shot that was well saved by Timothy Sibanda in goal for the visitors.

Moments later, Roy Useni collected a loose ball on the right and went on a solo run before unleashing a rising shot which missed the upright by inches.

After the breather, Useni released Buka on the edge of the box and the striker shrugged off a challenge from Paddington Maburutse before placing the ball into the far right corner beyond keeper Sibanda. Hwange tried hard to come back into the match with Evans Rusike, who came in for Gilbert Zulu, engineering most of the moves, but Chipangano failed to conjure up clear cut chances in the final third.