CHICKEN INN lifted the NetOne Charity Shield after beating Caps United in an exciting match at Mandava Stadium yesterday.
REPORT BY FORTUNE MBELE
The GameCox heaved a sigh of relief after the final whistle. They led 3-0 in 80 minutes before an out-of sorts Caps United came alive in the last 20 minutes to score two goals. Marshal Marima banged in a brace and Tendai Mukambi scored what proved to be the winner for Chicken Inn while Hardlife Zvirekwi and Leonard Fiyado scored for Caps United.
Chicken Inn head coach Mandla Mpofu will rue trying the former Hardbody pair of Brian Juru and Richard Jongwe in the final 25 minutes as the two had a lousy afternoon, exposing the fast-foods outlet team’s midfield.
Jongwe came in for Marima in the 65th minute, but had to be pulled out in the dying minutes of the game as Mpofu sensed danger.
Chicken Inn had started firing from all cylinders from the start, but Canaan Nkomo skied his effort after receiving a pass from Mukambi.
Caps United were dependant on the counter-raid with Joseph Mutambiranwa, Fiyado and Rahman Kutsanzira, but Chicken Inn goalkeeper Liberty Chirava was never tested in the 80 minutes of the game.
An off-form Kutsanzira was pulled out in the 33rd minute and was replaced by Tafadzwa Mahore as they trailed 1-0.
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Chicken Inn were on the rampage straight from the outset and were rewarded in the 18th minute after Marima exchanged beautiful passes with Mukambi before he deftly pushed the ball past the former Cup Kings goalkeeper Winston Chiwetu.
In the 40th minute, right-back Moses Jackson flighted a cross from the right and the ball deflected off Marima and Mukambi poked the ball in to make it two-up for Chicken Inn.
Then Caps United’s central defender Arnold Chiveya made the worst blunder in the 57th minute when he fluffed a clearance and an unselfish Mukambi, in a position to blast the ball past Chiwetu, pushed it to Marima on the run and he made it three for Chicken Inn.
And it appeared The Green Machine was dead and buried before the resurrection in the last 20 minutes.
Zvirekwi fired past Chirava in the 81st minute after he was set up by former Hippo Valley striker Dominic Chungwa and Makepekepe were all over Chicken Inn.
That pressure resulted in another goal two minutes later as Fiyado packed a stinger past Chirava and all hell broke lose as Caps United dominated play to the final whistle.
Teams Chicken Inn — L Chirava, M Jackson, B Mbiriri, F Chindungwe, Z Ngodzo, D Phiri, B Juru, T Ndoro, C Nkomo, M Marima (R Jongwe 65th minute (T Goredema 90+), T Mukambi (C Kamhapa 76th minute) Caps United — W Chiwetu, T Kumbuyani, R Pfumbidzai, A Chiveya, B Zabula, M Muchenje, J Mutambiranwa( T Samanja 48th minute), R Kutsanzira (T Mahore 33rd minute), L Fiyado, H Zvirekwi, T Nyamandwe (D Chungwa 61st minute)
