Cranborne Bullets . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
Bulawayo Chiefs . . . . . . . . . . . . (1) 1
Bulawayo Chiefs took a giant step towards Castle Lager Premier Soccer League survival with a narrow win over bottom-placed Cranborne Bullets who are teetering towards being the first team to be relegated this season.
Billy Veremu's 23rd minute strike was enough to condemn the army side to another chastening defeat.
The Johanisi Nhumwa-coached Chiefs moved to 11th position with 35 points, four clear of the relegation cut-off point.
Nhumwa believes four more points from the remaining six matches should be enough for his team to survive relegation.
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"It was our day today (yesterday), we managed to squeeze that one goal and defended it. It's good for us," said Nhumwa whose side had to sustain a lot of pressure from Cranborne in the second half.
"We still need to work, but the next four points should be OK for us."
Defeat condemned Cranborne Bullets to more relegation woes as they remain at the bottom of the log standings with 22 points from 28 matches. They now need a miracle to survive.
Without their top goalscorer Obriel Chirinda, captain Malvin Mukolo and veteran midfielder Danny Phiri, the visitors made a strong start to the game and went ahead when Veremu got to the end of a clever Farau Matare lay-off to blast the ball home.
The goal appeared to jolt the soldiers into action as they immediately took the game to Chiefs but took turns to fire blanks.
Halftime substitute Vincent Mhandu had the best chance to pull his side back into the game when he ran clear but somehow tangled his feet, and the defenders recovered to clear the ball. A minute later, Wellington Taderera shot wide, before firing over from a yard out in the 67th minute after a mistake by Chiefs goalkeeper Khulekani Dube.
The goalie then made two excellent saves in injury time to keep the home side at bay.
Teams
Cranborne Bullets: V Jabangwe, X Janatana, P Mutasa, M Mushangwe, N Kupara, E Zinyama (K Mureremba, 46'), M Mudzuka, A Ngwenya, B Muzondiwa (V Mhandu, 46'), W Taderera, T Meke (L Daka, 78')
Bulawayo Chiefs: K Dube, B Nyahunzvi, M Msebe, A Ncube, N Ncube, P Shoko, M Gasela, B Veremu, F Moyo, M Hativagone, F Matare (D Dlodlo, 78').