BY TERRY MADYAUTA
FC PLATINUM……..(3)4
TRIANGLE…………..(0)0
Defending champions FC Platinum continued with their impressive resurgence in this campaign following an emphatic 4-0 win over Triangle at Mandava stadium yesterday.
A brace each from rookie forward Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya and Walter Musona was all the Norman Mapeza coached side needed to collect maximum points.
The miners are now third on the log standings, with four points separating them from log leaders, Chicken Inn.
Keep Reading
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
So much was expected going into this fixture, especially that Triangle have always given FC Platinum sleepless nights.
However, this one turned to be their worst nightmare as they were left chasing shadows in the mining town.
They found themselves trailing after 30 seconds, when Donald Teguru engineered a fast move on the left flank before delivering a low cross that was clamly darted home by Walter Musona.
For 10 minutes, the lowveld side seemed to be slowly getting back into the game, but they crumbled like a deck of cards under FC Platinum’s sizzling counter attacks.
The defending champions then doubled their scores through Ngwenya after incepting a back past from Arnold Chiveya before weaving pass goalie Godfrey Chitsumba to slot the ball home.
More misery was piled on the stroke of half-time, when Ngwenya completed his brace as he tapped the ball home following a goal mouth melee.
Triangle were too slow to move out of their blocks, so much that they spent both halves restricted in their own half.
Even when coach Jairos Tapera made substitutions, their play hardly changed and their main man Donald Ngoma hardly got clean supply throughout the encounter.
In truth, they could have lost this match with a bigger margin, but the hosts lacked precision especially in the second half.
However, they then wrapped up the match with Musona completing his brace on the 82 minute mark after freely slotting the ball home from a low cross delivered by Kelvin Mangiza.
For Mapeza, the win over Triangle is another sign that his youthful side has bigger ambitions in this campaign.
“The first half was better for us, we got an early goal and that helped to calm our nerves,” Mapeza said.
“I didn’t expect it but that proved to be the most important start for us. They tried to come back after 10 minutes, but we managed to hold on.
“Thanks for the goalkeeper, we managed to keep the lead. We caught them unaware and it paid off today.
“The boys have been working hard and this is a sign that we are moving in the right direction.”
Triangle coach Tapera conceded defeat.
“That lack of concentration in the early minutes proved to be costly for us. Of course the goal wasn’t much out of brilliance, but we gave it to them through that mistake,” he said.
“The first half then turned out to be horrific for us, we got chances but failed to hit the target yet our opponents did well in front of goal.
“We gifted them three goals and we lost the match by this embarrassing margin.”
Teams
FC Platinum: W Magalane, G Mbweti, G Bello, N Chinyerere, K Mangiza( R Pavari 64), B Banda, B Moyo, H Magaya, D Teguru( J Mutudza 83′), W Musona( O Bhebhe 90), T Ngwenya( P Mutimbanyoka 65′).
Triangle: T Chitsumba, J Mukombwe, M Ngwenya, A Chiveya( T Chisi 44′), K Gwao, T Mkunga, W Sande, R Madamombe( T Kabanda 65′), C Dzingai, D Ngoma, G Bero