Yadah, Hwange in exciting draw

Yadah FC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1) 2
Hwange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (0) 2

It was a day for the old timers, but for contrasting reasons. Usually dependable veteran goalkeeper Tafadzwa Dube had a bad day in the office as Yadah FC came from behind to snatch a draw against Hwange in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match at the National Sports Stadium in Harare yesterday.

Dube should have seen red for deliberately handling outside the box in the second half, but a refereeing error by Ruzive Ruzive saw the ‘keeper – and his Yadah side – escape unpunished. Yadah FC went to the breather leading 1-0 courtesy of exciting winger Morris Musiyakuvi, but Hwange rallied back with two second half goals from 35-year-old Gilbert Zulu and fellow veteran Obert Moyo.

Hwange’s second was a gift from Dube as the goalkeeper was beaten at the near post by Moyo’s freekick in the 79th minute. Zulu had leveled for Chipangano in the 70th minute when he shrugged off a challenge from two Yadah FC defenders to fire home. It looked all over for Yadah FC until Angolan winger Paul Borges took matters into his hands.

Borges equalised with a powerful grounder in a crowded box eight minutes after coming on for a rather subdued Leeroy Mavhunga. Yadah have one win in eight games and pressure continues to mount for coach Jairos Tapera who was suspended recently for poor results.

As for Hwange, the team finally found the back of the net after going for six matches firing blanks. Before yesterday’s two goals, Chipangano had last scored on April 26 when they beat Bantu Rovers 3-2.

Now, Nation Dube’s men are third from bottom with 10 points from 12 games.

Teams

Yadah FC: T Dube, J Dzingai, R Dongo, B Mapfumo, W Kamudyariwa, E Kalemba (M Makopa, 62’), M Musiyakuva, M Chiwara, L Mavhunga (P Borges, 73’), M Demera, B Chikwenya

Hwange: T Mvula, G Ndlovu, O Moyo, C Phiri, M Mekiwa, A Banda, S Gadzikwa (C Muleya, 87’), N Munorwei, M Ncube, J Kaunda (G Zulu, 54’), A Chuma Sunday Mail