BY TERRY MADYAUTA
FC Platinum…(3) 6
Whawha FC…(0) 0
FAVOURITES FC Platinum made a perfect return to domestic action after local football’s 13-month hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, thumping Premiership returnees Whawha 6-0 in a their opening Chibuku Super Cup Group 4 encounter played at Mandava Stadium yesterday.
The current PSL champions got off to a flying start courtesy of a Rodwell Chinyengetere hat-trick, a brace from Silas Songani and a late goal scored by rookie forward Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya.
Pure Platinum started the match in high tempo and they looked at ease and confident with their free-passing style of football, while their opponents, Whawha, were rather cagey and slow to come out of their shells.
Songani opened the scoresheet 19 minutes into the game from a free-kick, which was deflected by Whawha player Roy Useni before eluding goalie Simon Nyama.
Chinyengetere rubbed more salt into Whawha’s wound in the 27th minute with a stunning strike from inside the box from a rebound, after Nyama repelled Panashe Mutimbanyoka’s effort.
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The former Baroka FC star scored his second goal of the day with a curling strike from inside the box and again it was from a rebound which the prison wardens dismally failed to clear.
The Norman Mapeza-coached side continued with their dominance in the second stanza, with Songani completing his brace in the 69th minute, while Chinyengetere also sealed his first hat-trick since returning to the Zvishavane side, after 81 minutes.
Second half substitute Ngwenya added his name on the scoresheet in the referee’s additional time following a neat build-up that was engineered by Donald Teguru and Mutimbanyoka.
Mapeza was impressed by the character shown by his charges as they seek to continue their dominance by winning the coveted Chibuku Cup.
“I am happy for the win, we started on a high note. I am particularly impressed with the character shown by the team especially the youngsters,” said Mapeza.
“For Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya, it’s a good thing to score at such a level. He is such a young star and I am happy for him and for the seniors who led the team. We, however, don’t need to be overconfident, but we intend to win everything. You never know what happens in football,” Mapeza said.
Disappointed by the way his players applied themselves throughout, Hwahwa coach Luke Petros said: “We really need to improve in almost every area, but we are taking positives from this encounter.
“We hope to improve in this tournament. We knew this would be a tough match, but it’s unfortunate that we lost by such a margin.”
The former Kaizer Chiefs striker however retains faith that his charges will do better as the tournament progresses.
Chibuku Super Cup Results & Fixtures
Yesterday: Bulawayo City FC 0-2 Chicken Inn, Whawha FC 0-6 FC Platinum, CAPS United 2-2 Yadah FC, Tenax 1-4 v Black Rhinos
Today: Ngezi Platinum Stars v Triangle United (Grp 4 – Mandava, 11 am), Harare City v ZPC Kariba (Grp 1 – National Sports Stadium, 11 am), Bulawayo Chiefs v Highlanders (Grp 2 – Barbourfields, 1 pm), Herentals vs Dynamos (Grp 1 – National Sports Stadium, 3 pm), Manica Diamonds vs Cranborne Bullets (Grp 3 – Sakubva, 3 pm).
