BY HENRY MHARA
FC PLATINUM . . . . . . .. .(1)2
YADAH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ….0
FC PLATINUM are back in contention for the Premier Soccer League title after beating Yadah at the National Sports Stadium yesterday.
Goals either side of the half from Brian Banda and Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya following a goalkeeping error by Yadah second choice goalkeeper Richard Chiminga, saw the defending champions move to third position on the table.
They have 25 points, five behind log leaders Dynamos who play tomorrow.
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But the Norman Mapeza-coached side could close the gap even more if they are awarded the points, as expected, from their abandoned match against Highlanders.
“It is a massive result against a side which threw everything at us,” Mapeza said. “They played good football, but at the end of the day, they were punished for the mistakes committed by their goalkeeper.These are massive points and we will just have to stay humble and keep working hard.”
The victory was FC Platinum’s second on the bounce after their 3-0 win over Caps United last week.
“It could have been more because we created so many chances. How many chances did Thandolwenkosi got today but he is still young and I give him the benefit of doubt. If we had someone like Perfect (Chikwende), he could be sitting on 20 goals now. But what is important is we are creating those opportunities, but if we don’t bury them it might come to haunt us. At the moment we are pushing and at times benefiting from errors like today,” Mapeza added.
The defeat was Yadah’s second in a row after a mini revival, and their coach Genesis Mangombe is a worried man.
The club sits on 14th position with 15 points and is one rung above the relegation cut-off point. They could find themselves back in the relegation zone if either Tenax or ZPC Kariba win their matches this weekend.
“It is a bad result,” Mangombe said. “When playing at home you need to collect maximum points, but we failed. When you make such mistakes in a game of football you are bound to lose. We have to go back on the drawing board and address things like the childish mistakes that we saw.”
On this one, Chiminga failed to gather a simple cross from Walter Musona which he dropped in front of Ngwenya who gladly tapped in.
Yadah tried hard to come back from the game with some methodical build-ups but FC Platinum held on comfortably for the three points.
Teams Yadah: R Chiminga, B Kadamanja, L Mucheto, T Gahadzikwa, T Shandirwa, C Mandivei, A Manenji (R Matema, 73′), F Binzi (V Sango, 56′), C Denhere (M Faranando, 56′), J Mutembedza (G Mangani, 56′), K Mangani.
FC Platinum: W Magalane, L Mhlanga, G Bello, W Stima, K Mangiza, B Banda (J Mutudza, 77′), B Moyo (O Onifade, 91), H Magaya (R Pavari, 59′), P Mutimbanyoka (N Makumbe, 91′), W Musona, T Ngwenya (I Mucheneka, 91′)
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