Harare City ………….(2)2 Highlanders……..…. (0)0
As referee Ruzive Ruzive blew his whistle to signal the end of the match, Harare City goalkeeper Ryan Harrison raised both hands and pointed to the sky in jubilation.
BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE
It was probably the befitting relief of a man in goals for the defending champions and Chibuku Cup record holders.
Two first-half goals by Wilfred Muvirimi and the competition’s all-time top scorer William Manondo decided a fiercely fought contest in which Highlanders dominated but lost.
one cannot help, but feel sorry for Bosso, who missed a 10th minute penalty and struck the upright post early in the second half as goals eluded them all afternoon.
Harare City are in yet another Chibuku semi-final and Manondo has now scored 21 goals in the competition.
“We are delighted to be in the semi-final, it was a bit of a war zone out there. I thought in the first 35 minutes we had good control of the game. They had a penalty which gave them an opportunity and they wasted it, then we got the two goals when we were in control,” Sunshine Boys coach Mark Harrison said after the match.
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However, Harrison refused to bank on the team’s history in the cup.
“At the moment we just are in the semi-final, let’s see who we get in the semi-final and the outcome of that game. I don’t believe in the past, I believe in the present,” he said.
Adrian Silla missed the penalty for Bosso early in the match and it was an opportunity the visitors would rue.
Halfway through the first half, Muvirimi took advantage of poor communication between Ariel Sibanda and Tendai Ndlovu to poke in the opener.
The hosts doubled the score in the 28th minute from a corner kick, Manondo nodding home a Gareth Madhaike delivery.
Highlanders were more fluid late in the half and were unlucky not to halve the deficit, captain Gabriel Nyoni scuffing Tafadzwa Sibanda’s perfect square pass with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Bosso had the momentum coming from the break and four minutes on Brian Banda, from 35 yards, beat Nyamupanedengu, but was denied by the upright post.
“Normally when youngsters get an opportunity like the one we got in the early stages and you miss, you are bound to have a torrid time to motivate them. But the fighting spirit was good and I am proud of the boys,” Highlanders technical manager Madinda Ndlovu said.
