SIMBA BHORA . . . . . . . . . . . . (0) 2
NGEZI PLATINUM STARS . . . (1) 1
NGEZI Platinum captain Kudzai Chigwida scored a late own goal to gift Simba Bhora a come-from-behind victory at Wadzanai and go top of the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League log table.
Tapiwa Mandinyenya gave the visitors a half-time lead with a free kick just before the half hour mark. Goalkeeper Tymon Mvula would know he could have done better to keep the shot out, but only parried the ball into his net.
Second half substitute Billy Veremu equalised from inside the box with an angled shot after he was put through by Walter Musona from a freekick.
Ngezi conceded a freekick just outside the box, and with the visiting players crowding the referee in protest of the decision, Musona showed great presence of mind to quickly dispatch the ball on to the path of Veremu, who rifled into the top right corner.
Bouyed by the equaliser, Simba Bhora pressed for the winner as they created chances with quick regularity.
Ishmael Nyanhi fired wide from close range while Musona's freekick was tipped over.
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But with Ngezi looking like they had done enough to repel the pressure and hold on for a point, Chigwida headed into his own net from a freekick with five minutes remaining to send the home crowd into a frenzy.
The visitors could, however, have snatched a draw when Farai Madhanaga opened fire from outside the box, but Mvula made amends for his earlier mistake with a stunning one hand save.
Simba Bhora coach Tonderai Ndiraya was excited over the victory.
"I'm overly excited. It was a good performance from the team. What I'm most excited about is the character that they showed. It was a bit difficult for us in the first half, tactically we were not on point. We had to change things in the second half and the subs that we put in made a very huge impact on the game and changed the complexion of the game."
Chiragwi said, "It's another mourning day for us after a fighting perfomance in the first half. We tried our best like always, but unfortunately we conceded an own goal which is normal in football. It hurts to lose a match after we performed the way we did. The guys put everything and I'm proud of them."
