Chicken Inn go 6 games unbeaten

By Ricky Zililo

Former Castle Lager Premiership champions Chicken Inn extended their unbeaten run to six games, with a flawless display against Shabanie Mine who they beat 3-0 at Maglas Stadium on Sunday.

Chicken Inn, viewed as championship dark horses, are third on the table with 40 points after 21 games and trail leaders FC Platinum who are on a mission to defend their title by nine points.

The Gamecocks deserved the win against Shabanie Mine who went into the weekend game having wasted two days of training as their players reportedly staged a sit-in.

Ex-Bantu Rovers striker Obriel Chirinda was the star of the day for Chicken Inn, having a hand in all the build-ups to their three goals.

Chicken Inn got their goals in the second half, with Darryl Nyandoro making up for his first half misses with an opener. Attacking midfielder Innocent Mucheneka doubled Chicken Inn’s lead connecting a Chirinda cutback with aplomb and Obidiah Tarumbwa rose from the bench to score his seventh goal of the season with a perfect header off a Chirinda cross.

Joey Antipas, Chicken Inn’s coach heaved a sigh of relief after his team managed to turn on the heat in the second half.

The Gamecocks went into the game under pressure to collect maximum points so that they maintain the gap between them and FC Platinum as well as Ngezi Platinum Stars who won their games on Saturday.

FC Platinum piled relegation woes on Bulawayo City, beating the City of Kings side 1-0 at Barbourfields Stadium while Ngezi had to come from behind to beat a stubborn Nichrut 3-2 in Mhondoro.

“We always knew it was going to be a tricky game. We deserved maximum points because of the way we played. In the first half we fluffed chances we created and we had to stamp our authority after the break. We just had to be precise and I’m happy we did just that,” said Antipas.

The Chicken Inn gaffer who led Chicken Inn to the 2015 championship is also happy about his team’s consistency which has seen them winning five out of their last six game. During the period they drew 1-1 with Dynamos in Harare.

“It was important that we start the second round in good form. In the first half of the season we were hit by inconsistency as we had too many draws. Right now we seem to have got our combinations right. Also, I believe this win came at a right time when we prepare for Ngezi game. It is certainly a confidence boosting victory,” Antipas said.

While Antipas revelled in his victory, Shabanie Mine coach Alexio Sijoni felt that the players’ strike over outstanding salaries and allowances contributed to their loss.

“In football there’s no shortcut. We had a sit-in by players in the build-up to this game and didn’t train for two days. You could see that fatigue had crept in on players in the second half and that is when we conceded. I don’t like to make excuses when we lose but for this result, we didn’t prepare enough because of the in-house problems. My hope is that everything is resolved quickly so that we focus on fighting against relegation,” Sijoni said.

Meanwhile, Bulawayo Chiefs held Chapungu to a 1-1 draw in Gweru while Caps United moved a place up the table to position four following a 1-0 win over Black Rhinos. –The Chronicle

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