Whawha, Buffaloes draw

Midlands Correspondent
Whawha 1-1 Buffaloes
WHAWHA were their own worst enemy in their quest to fight relegation when they allowed army side Buffaloes to claw back and snatch a draw from nothing in a Premiership encounter at Ascot Stadium in Gweru yesterday.

After taking the lead through Sylvester Nhamo six minutes after the break, the visitors cancelled the lead in the 59th minute following a “schoolboy” blunder by Gift Kwaramba which earned Buffaloes a penalty converted by Farai Banda.

If the Gweru-based prison warders are to be relegated at the end of the season, they would probably look back at this game as they easily dropped two points.

The match was delayed by 15 minutes after the soldiers arrived late due to breakdown.

The visitors quickly got down to business and dictated the pace for the better part of the first half.

The Mutare-based side could have taken the lead in the 12th minute when Barnabas Mushunje beat his marker on the left flank before whipping in a cross to Jeffrey Takunda, who seemed to run out of ideas in the box and headed the ball into goalkeeper Philip Nhete’s arms.

However, Whawha had their moments in the 27th minute when Oscar Lungu’s shot from outside the box missed the target by inches after being set up by the exciting Cleopas Kapupurika.

The second half started with the hosts in control and they were duly rewarded in the 51st minute when Nelson Maziwisa’s cross was met first time by Cliff Mwale, but the effort was cleared.

The ball fell onto the path of Nhamo, who coolly slotted the ball home from close range sending the Whawha supporters into a frenzy.

However, a moment of madness saw Kwaramba dilly-dallying with the ball and he was dispossessed by Muzokomba, who charged towards goal before being impeded by keeper Phillip Nhete.

Banda took the responsibility for the soldiers and although his first effort was blocked by Nhete, he made no mistake from the rebound to level the scores.

Whawha coach Lloyd Mutasa said his side deserved maximum points and felt Kwaramba’s blunder cost them two points.

“We deserved a win but we gave them a goal out of nothing. That schoolboy mistake which resulted in the penalty cost us the three points,” said Mutasa.

His Buffaloes counterpart Saul Chaminuka was satisfied with the result.

“I think the result is fair and it’s good for us because at this stage each point matters, especially playing away from home. If we are to survive, we should scratch something and I hope we will scratch something at home,” said Chaminuka.