CHICKEN INN were forced to play for 26 minutes with 10-men, but they held Highlanders to a goalless draw in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match Barboufields Stadium yesterday.
The Gamecocks finished the game a man short after defender, Mpumelelo Bhebhe, was red-carded in the 64th minute.
Bhebhe denied a goalscoring opportunity as he brought down Nqobile Ndlovu on the edge of the box. He was then given his second yellow card following an early booking in the fifth minute for a dangerous tackle on Bosso’s teenage sensation, Prince Ndlovu.
With the tackle on Ndlovu, Kelvin Kaindu was forced to make an early change. Honest Mhlanga came on for the injured teenager who left the field of play limping.
For Gamecocks’ head coach, Joey Antipas, the draw was a welcome result. Antipas said they played the last 26 minutes under heavy pressure, but was pleased with how his players managed to handle it.
“We will take the point considering that we played the 26 minutes a man shot. The game was very tactical, the two teams virtually cancelled one another. There were few chances during the game, but I though we did very well considering that in the last 25 minutes we still had quite a bit of a blow,” Antipas said.
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Highlanders coach Kaindu said he was unhappy with the result. He said they should have collected maximum points and better their record against Chicken Inn.
“I don't know what to say, but l thought this was a game where we could have come up with maximum points. Today we came hoping we would improve our statistics against Chicken Inn, but l think our game plan was disturbed with that injury in the first 10 minutes of the game which also adds to our injury list,” Kaindu said.
“This gives us few options in terms of depth. We looked compact at the back. We knew Chicken Inn will be good when they want to launch a counter. Their transition is good because they have fast strikers. We looked stable when defending.”
The two teams struggled to create any meaningful chances throughout the 90 minutes of play.
In the early stages, Brighton Ncube put Nqobile Ndlovu through on the wing but the latter’s cross into the box went out on the other side of the field.
In the 17th minute, Michael Charamba took matters into his own hands with a long range shot which, however, went over the bar without troubling Reward Muza.
In the 28th minute, Chicken Inn keeper Donovan Bernard passed the ball onto Highlanders’ captain of the day, Lynoth Chikuhwa, who played with Brighton Ncube. Instead of going for goal, Ncube opted to pass and was intercepted
The game’s first shot on target came in the 36th minute off Melikhaya Ncube’s boot. However, his long range shot was comfortably dealt with by Bernard.
Soon after, Chicken Inn also got their first shot on target. Midfielder Joseph Tulani’s shot was cleared off the line for a corner kick by Muza. Tulani’s shot was a rebound from a Charamba shot that was intercepted
Just before half-time, Chicken Inns’s captain, Xolani Ndlovu’s brilliant long range shot went over the bar.
With 55 minutes played, Melikhaya Ncube failed to connect well with a brilliant cross from Marvelous Chigumira. His headed effort went over the bar.
Tulani would fumble a golden chance with the head. Unmarked in the box, the Gamecocks’ midfielder headed over the bar from a George Majika cross
Brighton Ncube’s attempted overhead kick in the 60th minute went over the bar but received applause from the Bosso faithful.
Castle Lager Premiership
Matchday 24 Results
Chicken Inn 0-0 Highlanders
CAPS United 1-0 Manica Diamonds
Bikita Minerals 1-0 FC Platinum
Chegutu Pirates 0-2 Yadah