From Tobias Mandoreba in Hwange
Hwange ……………………………………………………. (2) 4
Harare City………………………………………………… (0)1
A fired up Hwange produced some stunning and breathtaking football to turn Harare City’s big dream of leapfrogging Highlanders into pole position on the Castle Lager Premiership log table into a big nightmare before a vocal crowd at the Colliery yesterday.
With log leaders Bosso stumbling to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of CAPS United on Saturday, the Sunshine Boys who beat Monomotapa 3-1 in mid-week had a fine opportunity of taking over top spot.
The Harare side also trooped into the coalmining town oozing with confidence especially given that Hwange had been struggling with their game and had lost two matches.
But football will always remain a crazy game as the hosts went on a rampage to reduce the title chasing Harare side into an ordinary outfit with goals by Gilbert Zulu, who grabbed a double, Gerald Ndlovu and Phakamani Dube ending the visitors fine run.
William Manondo scored Harare City’s face saver.
Hwange did not take long to show they meant serious business as they surged ahead as early as the sixth minute when Zulu connected a delicate Eric Chipeta cross with a flashing header which left Harare City goal minder Maxwell Nyamupangedengu clutching thin air.
The visitors could have responded barely five minutes later but defender Crispen Dickson watched in agony as his ferocious free-kick from the edge of the box sail just inches over the cross bar.
Harare City then kept asking lots of questions in search of an early response and in the 20th minute speedy striker Martin Vengesayi used his pace to burst into the Hwange box before releasing Osborne Mukuradare whose first time volley found Timothy Sibanda alert on duty.
In a swift counter attack Nyamupangedengu had to summon his reflexes to smother an Isaac Masame low shot as the game livened up.
The coalminers then pinned Harare City in their own half with some dangerous moves revolving around the hosts’ man of the match Tafara Chese and young Phakamani Dube.
The pressure proved too much for the visitors two minutes from the break as defender Munyaradzi Nyenye needlessly hacked down Chese in the box leaving Hwange referee Bekezela Makeka with no option than to point to the spot.
Up stepped captain Gerald Ndlovu to send Nyamupangedengu the wrong to send the home fans into a frenzy.
Seven minutes after the breather Nyenye atoned for his earlier mistake when he scooped a powerful Munyaradzi Mungadze header off the line with his goalkeeper well beaten.
In the 62nd minute Harare City got a lifeline when Manondo pulled one back with a simple tap in after he came to the end of a three-man involving Phineas Bamusi, Vengesayi and substitute Talent Chawapiwa.
Four minutes after that goal, a chance to draw level presented itself on a silver platter when Hwange defender Mungadze, under no pressure at all, handled the ball leading to the visitors being awarded a penalty.
Mukuradare disappointed with a lame effort which was punched back into play by Timothy Sibanda and from the clearance by defender David Boriwondo, Hwange counter attacked and got a goal raced out sight through a cracker from Phakamani Dube.
The faces on the Harare City bench after this goal told a big story of a team who had accepted their fate.
Fifteen minutes from the end the visitors’ day turned from bad to worse as Zulu completed his double with another fine header into the back of the nets after Evans Rusike had spotted him unmarked in the box.
Even some renewed fighting spirit from Bamusi who combined well with substitutes Crybert Muvuti and Chawapiwa could not prevent the Sunshine Boys from making the long trip back to the capital empty handed as most of their attacks were foiled by the lanky Boriwondo, who is now nicknamed “Tollgate” by the Hwange faithful for his clean job at the back.
Hwange assistant coach Brian Njovu said his team “is always geared to silence respected sides’’.
“We want those teams who will be in the limelight for good results so that we discipline them here as you saw for yourself.
“I think our problems of a blunt strike force are now history as we want to start scoring goals in the coming games.” said Njovu.
Harare City’s Bigboy Mawiwi felt his team had let in soft goals.
“I am not happy with the soft goals we conceded today as you always get punished in soccer for such mistakes. However, we will work on the mistakes and bounce back as this team is work in progress. The other turning point of the game was that penalty miss but such is football,” Njovu said.
Teams
Hwange: T Sibanda;P Dube (O Lungu 75th min); M Mungadze; G Ndlovu; D Boriwondo; A Tshuma; I Masame ( M Longwe 87th min); E Chipeta; G Zulu; E Rusike (N Siwela 75th min); T Chese.
Harare City: M Nyamupangedengu; M Nyenye; R Maketo; C Dickson; W Nyamutsaka; J Jam; W Manondo; T Nyamadzawo (T Chawapiwa 46th min); M Vengesayi (C Muvuti 65th min); O Mukuradare (G Nyamadzawo 70th min); P Bamusi.
