Ngezi Platinum Stars......(2)2
Dynamos ..........................(0)0
First half goals from Talent Chamboko and Takunda Benhura helped outgoing league champions Ngezi Platinum Stars beat their Chibuku Cup opponents Dynamos in an entertaining rescheduled Castle lager Premier League tie at Baobab Stadium yesterday.
The win also saw Ngezi Platinum Stars secure a top-four finish in the league and the two teams will clash again in the Chibuku Super Cup Final tie to be played in a fortnight at Rufaro Stadium.
It was Ngezi Platinum Stars' fourth win in six matches at Baobab against the Harare Giants since 2017.
Chamboko glanced home a Never Tigere corner-kick in the second minute to give the hosts an early lead before Benhura doubled the scores in the 40th minute.
It was Benhura’s 12th goal of the season and is now joint third along with Wiliam Manondo in the race for the Golden Boot, which he won last season, with one match remaining.
Ngezi Platinum assistant coach Kumbirai Mutiwekuziva was happy with the result.
“It’s a very important result and it’s also important for us to maintain our place in the top four. We were the champions last season and we were dethroned by Simba Bhora and we cannot catch FC Platinum now, so having the third position is the best for us to show that we are still a force to reckon with though we should have gone for the title. We will organize ourselves and come back stronger next season,” he said.
Ngezi Platinum Stars are now guaranteed third place with 54 points from 33 matches while Dynamos remain in seventh place with 46 points from as many matches.
Coach Lloyd Chigowe felt the team gave away soft goals in the first half and is hoping for revenge in the Chibuku Cup.
“We gave away two soft goals. We intended not to concede in the first 15 minutes and we did. We tried to make amends in the second half but they were resolute in defence but we have another game (in the Chibuku Super Cup) on the 30th, I hope we will have done our homework. We will look into the finer details and make amends,” he said after the match.
Ngezi Platinum Stars did not give the visitors a chance to get comfortable after they broke the deadlock as early as the second minute.
They forced a corner-kick straight from the first whistle and Chamboko headed in a Tigere setpiece much to the delight of the home fans.
Tigere would hit the woodwork from another set-piece moments later while Dynamos took time to get into the game.
The hosts doubled the lead six minutes before the break when Gareth Madhake before setting up Benhura, after some good work by Obriel Chirinda, who scoredd from inside the box.
Despite playing well in the second half Dynamos could not find a consolation goal and will now look to end the season on high away at Green Fuel next.