SHEASHAM FC . . . . . . . . . . . .(0)2
BULAWAYO CHIEFS . . . . . . .(1) 1
REFEREE Tabani Bamala and his assistant Thomas Kusosa were harassed by Bulawayo Chiefs players after an otherwise bad day in the office, as Sheasham edged a battling Bulawayo Chiefs in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match at Bata stadium yesterday.
The Ninjas were denied what looked like a genuine penalty in the final few minutes of the game, moments before Hilary Bakacheza scored for the home side, albeit, under controversial circumstances.
After a rather slow start to the game, Bulawayo Chiefs were first on the score sheet, grabbing their first chance after 30 minutes and converted.
Nkosilathi Ncube calmly converted after making an intelligent run on the left wing to tap the ball home from a delightful cross whipped in by Mthokozisi Msebe, as Sheasham defenders fumbled.
Amakhosi kept their lead, going into the half-time break.
There was nothing to write home about in the early exchanges of the second stanza, until the home side restored parity through Thubelihle Jubane, who beat Isaah Ali with a rasping shot from outside the box in the 64th minute, after receiving a weak clearance by Malvin Mkolo.
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The boiling point of the match came in the 89th minute when referee Thabani Bamala denied Bulawayo Chiefs what looked like a penalty when defender Collin Kwaramba crudely clipped Billy Veremu's ankles in the box, as the ball rolled out of play.
On the counter, Sheasham went on to score the winning goal, albeit, controversially. Hilary Bakacheza darted the ball home from what looked like a clear offside position, but Kusosa kept his flag down.
That decision caught the ire of the Bulawayo Chiefs officials as the goal placed the match beyond their reach, losing their second match on the bounce.
After the match, Bulawayo Chiefs coach Johannes Nhumwa was livid, and was unable to give a post-match comment due to anger.
His counterpart, Lizwe Sweswe, was pleased with his men's fighting spirit.
"This win means a lot to us. We needed the points especially as the league slowly moves towards the end,” said Sweswe.
"We were not ourselves in terms of moving the ball. What we wanted was a little bit of patience in terms of moving the ball.
“We came back as a changed team in the second half. It paid for us. We had the fighting spirit and we got the goal at the end.
"We are still fighting. Every game is very important. We are left with eight games, and a lot of teams are fighting for survival. It’s still game on."
