YADAH FC came from behind to pick up another set of vital points away when they put an end to log-leaders Chicken Inn’s nine-match unbeaten run in an evenly balanced Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match played at Hartsfield Grounds yesterday.
It was the Walter Magaya-owned side’s second win in a row after they dispatched Bantu Rovers last week. The GameCocks seem to have lost the stranglehold at the apex of the log as they are now at par on 51 points with FC Platinum, who edged How Mine at Mandava yesterday.
Yadah FC moved one step up the ladder to position 13, with 30 points enhancing their chances of staying in the top league next year.
Obadiah Tarumbwa scored probably the fastest goal in the league so far, breaking the deadlock in the first 30 seconds of the match with a header to the far post. He had been sent through by right-back Passmore Bernard with a cross and duly put Chicken Inn in the lead.
But that goal was quickly cancelled by Yadah FC defender Jimmy Dzingai with yet another header five minutes later after coming to the end of a free kick by Wellington Kamudyariwa on the right.
With 12 minutes to go and the match seemingly heading for a deadlock, Yadah FC got the winner through Morris Musiyakuvi. He pounced on a rebound by substitute Moses Demera after the former had taken advantage of bad timing by Chicken Inn defender Ben Nyahunzvi.
Chicken Inn head coach Rahman Gumbo said he knew the defeat was always coming and it came as a wake-up call to his boys.
“I think it was a wake-up call for the guys because we talked about this during our team talk prior to the game and it happened exactly the way that I told them. But these things happen in football and I think it was good for the team. I am very disappointed, complacency was creeping into the boys and they needed this wake-up call,” Gumbo said.
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He, however, maintained the GameCocks would still fight to win the coveted championship trophy even after the slip-up. “The loss is more of a motivator than anything. We are still there. We don’t have a problem. This is just a small setback to the team but we are still fighting,” he said.
Yadah FC coach Thomas Ruzive was ecstatic.
“My boys have shown character and without taking anything away from the log-leaders, they played good football but they just slept on the wheel. My guys worked as a unit to achieve that result,” he said.
“We are working on surviving relegation and these are crucial points for us. If my guys continue with the hard work they are doing, we are going to survive.”
Teams: Chicken Inn: E Chipezeze, P Bernard, D Lunga, B Nyahunzvi, M Jackson, T Goredema, C Matawu, C Samakweri (K Gurure 71’), I Mucheneka, D Nyandoro (T Kadyaridzire 56’), O Tarumbwa (C Dhuwa 82’). Yadah FC: S Mafukidze, W Kalongoda, B Chikwenya, J Dzingai, D Dauda, B Mapfumo, W Kamudyariwa, B Madzokere (M Makopa 52’), M Musiyakuvi, J Sibanda (M Demera 65’), M Nyenye Matchday 25 results and fixtures: Yesterday: Chicken Inn 1-2 Yadah FC, Black Rhinos 1-1 Bulawayo City, Tsholotsho 0-0 ZPC Kariba, FC Platinum 1-0 How Mine, Chapungu 1-1 Shabanie Mine. Today: Dynamos v Highlanders (Rufaro), Triangle v Hwange (Gibbo), Bantu Rovers v CAPS United (Hartsfield) BY FORTUNE MBELE
