ZPC Kariba . . . . (1) 1 FC Platinum . . . (0) 1 Referee Ruzive Ruzive took centre stage at end of the ZPC Kariba and FC Platinum stalemate when he was mobbed by visiting players after waving away appeals for a late penalty at Nyamhunga Stadium yesterday.
BY NUNURAI JENA
All hell broke loose in the last minute of the fiercely-contested encounter as Ruzive waved play on after FC Platinum striker Charles Sibanda appeared to have been infringed upon by ZPC defender Sylvester Appiah, much to the ire of FC Platinum players.
In the heat of the moment, Ruzive showed FC Platinum defenders Gift Bello a yellow card for dissent and followed up with a red when he continued protesting.
It took FC Platinum coach Norman Mapeza’s intervention for Bello to leave the pitch.
The draw threw the Premier Soccer League (PSL) title wide open as it leaves fellow contenders CAPS United with an opportunity to reduce FC Platinum’s lead at the top of the table to just one point should they win their tricky encounter against Triangle at Gibbo today.
A visibly furious Mapeza refused to dwell much on the officiating.
“The PSL [Premier Soccer League] board must comment on the referee. I’m not going to talk about the match officials because it is not my job. The match commissioner is there to comment. Destiny is not in our hands, destiny is God’s, but as FC Platinum, we will continue believing,” he said.
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Defender-turned-striker Tawanda Nyamandwe opened the score sheet with a volley past FC Platinum goalkeeper Petros Mhari in the 19th minute after a corner kick by Talent Chawapihwa.
ZPC Kariba continued to dominate in the first half, but could not turn their dominance into goals as Limited Chikafa and inform Chawapiwa took turns to miss glorious chances.
Pure Platinum Play had their chances, but their strikers — Charles Sibanda, Tarisai Rukanda and Walter Musona — fluffed chances that came their way.
In the second half, the platinum miners started the game on the offensive and were duly rewarded in the 63rd minute when Musona took advantage of sloppy marking by ZPC defenders to bury his shot in the far right corner and silence the drum-beating home fans.
FC Platinum were all over ZPC Kariba, but fell shot on the attack.
ZPC Kariba coach Sunday Chidzambwa said he is happy with the team’s progress in recent matches.
“We created many chances which we blew away, but our target is to end in a reasonable position and we are in the right direction. Remember, we are not talking of championship yet,” he said.
TEAMS ZPC Kariba: T Hove, T Munyanduri, M Kunyarimwe, S Appiah, B Mutukure, E Meleka (P Kabwe 54’) L Zvasiya, N Tigere, T Nyamandwe, L Chikafa, T Chawapiwa (D Chakupe 79’)
FC Platinum: P Mhari, I Nekati, G Bello, E Moyo, K Moyo, W Mhango, R Chinyengetere, N Masuku, C Sibanda, T Rukanda (M Kawashu 59’), W Musona
RESULTS AT A GLANCE ZPC Kariba 1-1 FC Platinum, Harare City 1-0 Ngezi Platinum Stars, How Mine 1-2, Tsholotsho, Bulawayo City 1-0 Mutare City Rovers
