Monomotapa . . (0) 4 Hardbody . . . . . (2) 2 Monomotapa rose from the dead to overturn a two-goal deficit after scoring four second half goals to beat Hardbody in a six-goal thriller at Gwanzura Stadium yesterday.
Hardbody must have thought they had the three points in the bag after an impressive first half display saw them going to the breather with a healthy 2-0 lead.
Former Dynamos player Aleck Marime opened the scoring in the fourth minute before veteran striker Malvern Nyakabangwe increased the lead with a superb volley on the stroke of halftime.
Hardbody had more clear chances to increase the margin but they failed to convert and were duly punished by a resurgent Monomotapa, courtesy of two goals apiece from striker Tawanda Nyamandwe and Ronald Chitiyo.
Chitiyo scored his team’s first goal after connecting a fine cross from the left in the 71st minute.
With some of the Monoz fans still celebrating the goal, Nyamandwe equalised a minute later to set up a nervy finish for Hardbody, who prior to that had looked comfortable.
Nyamandwe completed his brace two minutes later after capitalising on a lapse in concentration by the visiting team before Chitiyo also completed his brace in the 79th minute.
Following yesterday’s win Monomotapa remained in seventh position after increasing their tally to 23 points while Hardbody remained stuck in the relegation zone on 10 points from 14 matches.
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Monomotapa assistant coach Biggie Zuze paid tribute to his players’ never-say-die attitude.
“It was a tough game especially in the first half. We made some mistakes early on but we rectified them in the second half which saw us creating a lot of chances in the second half which we managed to convert. The boys never gave up even when we were two goals down and I think that was the difference in the end,’ said Zuze.
Hardbody coach Tavaka Gumbo said: “My players lost concentration during a key period in the match. The boys relaxed for just about five minutes and before we knew it they had scored three goals. “It’s something that we have to work on because we have been taking the lead but going on to lose.”
