Chicken Inn add to Tsholotsho woes

Sport
TSHOLOTSHO FC . . . . . . 0 CHICKEN INN . . . . . . . (0) 1 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL) champions Chicken Inn, who played the majority of the match with 10 men, revived their slim hopes of defending their title after notching up their fourth win of the […]

TSHOLOTSHO FC . . . . . . 0 CHICKEN INN . . . . . . . (0) 1 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL) champions Chicken Inn, who played the majority of the match with 10 men, revived their slim hopes of defending their title after notching up their fourth win of the season, beating struggling Tsholotsho at White City Stadium yesterday. BY FORTUNE MBELE

Obadiah Tarumbwa was on target with a slick header in the 74th minute after firmly connecting a cross from Thabani Goredema to get his third goal of the season in a rather uninspiring affair that saw little of goalmouth action.

Chicken Inn central defender Lawrence Mhlanga was shown the red card 18 minutes into the match by referee Zibusiso Moyo for a nasty tackle on Tsholotsho player Butholezwe Ncube.

It was coach Rahman Gumbo’s second victory since taking over the reins at the GameCocks and he will be delighted with the win, as he went into the match without strikers Michelle Katsvairo and Edmore Chirambadare, who fly out to South Africa this afternoon to join their new club Kaizer Chiefs.

Chicken Inn assistant coach Thulani Sibanda said his charges showed great strength of character by winning the match with a man down.

“It was a good game. We showed some improvement in terms of physique. The only headache as we head to Hwange for the midweek tie is that red card to Lawrence and the departure of strikers Edmore and Katsvairo, but we will continue to do our best,” he said.

Tsholotsho assistant coach Xolani Mafikela said he was disappointed that his charges could not come out of the match with at least a point after dominating yesterday’s game.

“It is one of those things. When you play a game, either you win or lose. We did not take our chances. We were in control of the match, but failed to score. We just have to work on our finishing going forward,” he said.

Meanwhile, in another PSL match, former Dynamos coach Tonderayi Ndiraya got his tenure as Ngezi Platinum Stars coach off to a promising start after grinding out a crucial 1-0 win over visiting Border Strikers at Boabab yesterday. Teams:

Tsholotsho: C Mariyoni, M Phiri, N Moyo, W Stima, S Dube, B Ncube, R Mufudza, A Ncube, X Ndlovu (B Sibanda 64’), N Gama (L Chikuhwa 68’), N Mundandishe (M Ponyera 68’) Chicken Inn: E Chipezeze, D Lunga, P Bernard, T Hadebe, L Mhlanga (red card 18’), T Goredema, T Kutinyu (B Nyahunzvi 81’), M Demera (M Jackson 24’), C Matawu, G Majika (P Tafirenyika 67’), O Tarumbwa