WhaWha . . . . . . . . (0) (1) Chicken Inn . . . . . (0) (1)
RELEGATION-haunted WhaWha put up a solid performance to hold Premier Soccer League championship-chasing Chicken Inn, in the process inflicting a major glitch in their charge for the title at Ascot yesterday.
BY MUKUDZEI CHINGWERE Young Toto Banda rescued the GameCocks from the jaws of defeat with a 90th minute equaliser, to cancel Nelson Maziwisa’s second-half strike.
The match was, however, not shy of controversy, with WhaWha head coach Lloyd Mutasa being sent to the stands towards the end of the duel by referee Norman Matemera.
The visitors came into the match boasting of a four-point lead ahead of closest rivals FC Platinum, but the points cushion was halved after yesterday’s fixtures.
The prison wardens meanwhile, are fighting on the opposite end of the log and are seemingly headed for the dreaded chop as they find themselves six points adrift of safety.
After the match, Chicken Inn head coach Joey Antipas felt that his charges underrated their opponent, but remained confident of winning the crown.
“It was a very difficult assignment. We struggled with our game; we are not used to playing at 1pm. “Our attitude coming into this game was again not right. We came into this match expecting that it was three easy points.
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“We now just have to stay organised and hope that we stay on top of the log standings.
“One thing for sure is that we have a strong fighting spirit and we just need to carry on with that spirit. We must now rely on scoring goals, not conceding and fighting back,” said Antipas.
WhaWha assistant coach Luke Jukulile Petros felt the referee sold his charges a raw deal.
“Lack of concentration in some crucial moments of the match denied us maximum points. From this point that we gained today, I can say we can have something in the bag that will enhance our chances of surviving relegation.
“Our players were being kicked but to our surprise the referee was not taking control of the match.
“That goal was contentious because the player who equalised was in an offside position, but to our surprise the goal was given,” said Jukulile.
Castle Lager Premier Soccer Results and Fixtures
Yesterday’s Results: Whawha 1-1 Chicken Inn, FC Platinum 2-0 Harare City, ZPC Kariba 1-1 Chapungu, How Mine 0-0 Flame Lily (Luveve).
Today’s Fixtures: Dynamos vs Caps United (Rufaro, SuperSport 3pm), Highlanders vs Buffaloes (Barbourfields), Hwange vs Tsholotsho (Colliery), Triangle vs Dongo Sawmill (Gibbo).
