Highlanders end drought

By Ricky Zililo in Bulawayo

Highlanders . . . . . . . . . (1) 1
Chicken Inn . . . . . . . . . . 0

BULAWAYO giants Highlanders chose the grand stage to end Chicken Inn’s dominance of them when they overcame the Gamecocks in a lively

final encounter at Barbourfields yesterday.

The triumph also helped Bosso end their three-year drought for silverware, with the Bulawayo giants having last won a major cup in 2013, albeit after beating yet another city opponent — How Mine — in the Mbada Diamonds Cup.

Highlanders also endured an indifferent start to the season with their experiment with rookie coach Bongani Mafu having terribly backfired.

Bosso, however, found their rhythm towards the end of the season and yesterday capped a strong finish with success in the Easycall Cup. Veteran striker Ralph Matema’s 40th minute goal from the penalty spot was enough to hand Highlanders the Easycall Cup.

Overlapping left-back Honest Moyo won a penalty for Bosso after being hacked in the box by Chicken Inn captain Danny “Deco” Phiri in the 39th minute and seasoned forward Matema took the responsibility and sent goalkeeper Elvis Chipezeze the wrong way.

The Bulawayo giants then shut shop and went on to defend their lead to deny Chicken Inn the league and cup double they had been yearning for.

The match started off as a see-saw affair, with both sides sizing each other up, especially in midfield. Chicken Inn forced Highlanders into their half in the opening 10 minutes with midfielders Phiri, Clement Matawu, George Majika and Raphael Kutinyu trying to unlock the Bosso backline. Highlanders’ strategy appeared to be that of sitting back and hoping to catch their opponents on fast breaks.

The Bosso midfield quartet of the outstanding Simon Munawa, Rahman Kutsanzira, Bruce Kangwa and King Nadolo did well to shut their opponents.

The first goalmouth action came in the 11th minute when Chicken Inn were awarded a free-kick after Highlanders’ defender Teenage Hadebe’s crude challenge on the Gamecocks’ skipper Phiri and earned him a yellow card.

Phiri took responsibility and his shot hit Bosso keeper Ariel Sibanda on the chest and bounced back into play, but the assistant referee saved the former Warriors goalminder blushes by raising his flag for offside on a Chicken Inn forward.

Chicken Inn’s best chance came in the 18th minute when striker Mitchell Katsvairo got to the end of Kutinyu’s defence-splitting pass only for the forward to shoot straight at the advancing keeper Sibanda.

Katsvairo chose to go for power instead of chipping the ball over the keeper. Chicken Inn enjoyed lots of ball possession, but failed to turn their dominance into goals.

Bosso nearly punished the Gamecocks in the 23rd minute when Kangwa outpaced Chicken Inn’s right-back Passmore Bernard and sent in a cross that was weakly connected by Matema into the hands of Chipezeze.

Chicken Inn’s central defender Ben Nyahunzvi threw his body on the line in the 36th minute to block a goal-bound effort by Knox Mutizwa.

Three minutes later, an overlapping Moyo dribbled past Bernard and beat Phiri, who hacked him down inside the box and referee Brighton Chimhene did not hesitate to point to the spot. Matema converted the penalty by sending Chipezeze the wrong way.

The second half saw Highlanders upping their game, something that they had been not doing in the last three matches. Matema almost doubled his team’s lead in the 59th minute when he connected a Munawa pass on the run, but an alert Chipezeze easily dealt with the effort.

A minute later, Chicken Inn striker Edmore Chirambadare, who had a quiet afternoon, almost scored a spectacular goal when his intended cross from an acute angle hit the crossbar. Highlanders’ goalkeeper Sibanda was called on to make a save in the 88th minute, punching a Chirambadare stinger for a corner in the 88th minute.

The Gamecocks, who are known to fight till the final whistle, fluffed another scoring opportunity in the 90th minute when Toto Banda ghosted from the blind side, but his decision-making was poor as he chose to control the ball instead of striking with a first time on the volley.

Mutizwa could have finished off the game in injury time when he beat his marker and let loose a shot that brought the best save from Chipezeze. Highlanders’ technical advisor Cosmas “Tsano” Zulu praised his charges for the victory.

“We did this for the Highlanders’ supporters who love the team. We watched two DVDs of Chicken Inn’s matches and we noted that people who make them play are Phiri, Matawu, Kutinyu and Majika. We then shut the quartet and even restricted Phiri from venturing upfront,” said Zulu.

“We also knew that we were going to need a defensive midfielder later in the game to close shop. I’m happy for the boys and happy that together with Amini Soma-Phiri and Melusi Sibanda, we’ve achieved the mandate that we were given by the club,” Zulu said.

Chicken Inn coach Joey Antipas was disappointed, but applauded his players for fighting till the last whistle. “We never created enough chances as we would have liked today and I doubt if that was a penalty because I feel there was no contact.” The Chronicle

Teams:

Highlanders: Ariel Sibanda, Tendai Ngulube, Honest Moyo, Felix Chindungwe, Teenage Hadebe (Valentine Ndaba, 47th minute), Simon Munawa, Rahman Kutsanzira (Nqobizitha Masuku, 58th minute), King Nadolo (Gabriel Nyoni, 80th minute), Bruce Kangwa, Knox Mutizwa, Ralph Matema

Chicken Inn: Elvis Chipezeze, Passmore Bernard, Devine Lunga, Lawrence Mhlanga, Ben Nyahunzvi, Danny Phiri, George Majika (Toto Banda, 69th minute), Clement Matawu, Raphael Kutinyu (Ishmael Lawe, 69th minute), Mitchell Katsvairo, Edmore Chirambadare