WITH just 11 minutes of play left, Triangle United had a point in the bag from their match against Highlanders at Barbourfields Stadium on Wednesday, but coach Gishon Ntini and his skipper Limited Chikafa seemed to have other ideas.
WELLINGTON TONI,SPORTS EDITOR
And with Dynamos drawing 1-1 against Shabanie Mine and Harare City failing to score against Motor Action, the status quo in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League could have been maintained with the defending champions favourites going into the last two matches.
But a moment of madness from one of the most experienced players in the league, Chikafa triggered a string of events at Barbourfields that ended with three red cards; an injured player and a 1-0 win for Bosso.
Chikafa has seen duty at the now defunct Railstars and Caps United and clearly should behave like his peers in the league and lead by example. Cases of misbehaviour by veterans like Herbert Dick, Gilbert Banda, Murape Murape, Gilbert Zulu and Mernard Mupera are minimal, if not completely unheard of.
Chikafa refused to be substituted in the 74th minute and only agreed to leave the pitch four minutes later, but took his sweet time in handing over the captain’s armband to his deputy David Sengu.
The striker was already on a yellow for a sixth minute foul on Masimba Mambare and needed to tread carefully in the game, but because he had arrived at Barbourfields with pre-conceived ideas, he completely lost the plot.
After he had been sent off, Chikafa then chose to fight back and started remonstrating with the referee, Bekezela Makeka. Enter Gizha.
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Instead of encouraging Chikafa to leave the pitch, Ntini opted to call off the entire team from the field of play. What a shame!
That led to a six-minute stoppage that was only broken by assistant coach Gift “Umbro” Muzadzi — the only man who seemed to have learnt his professionalism at Dynamos and the Warriors — as he ordered the players back onto the pitch.
But goalkeeper Brighton Chipula fell to the ground all alone and the referee attended to him.
Whatever conversation took place between the two will only be known from the referees’ report when it reaches Zifa and the PSL, but the goalkeeper was promptly sent for an early shower after the incident.
Certainly it was not for feigning injury as the referee is not a medical person, but it could have been for abusive language, dissent or just plain time wasting.
A fuming Ntini was not finished.
He then turned to fourth official — a female — Tambudzai Tawengwa — and shouted unprintable words before he was sent off.
It was at that moment that Highlanders, through Ozias Zibande, scored the only goal that took Highlanders to the top of the Premiership.
Such shocking behaviour from a coach is a blow to the league that is trying to portray a clean-cut image and even his statements to the media after the match reveal an unrepentant fellow who should be summoned before a disciplinary committee to explain himself.
“We were given eight yellow cards and three red cards, what for? He also added 15 minutes when they had shown six that is being stupid. He should have just told us not to come than wasting our time. They should have just given Highlanders the three points.
“What delaying? We never delayed. How can you delay when a player is injured? Highlanders are not a special team. We had no reason to delay; we were frustrated by the referee. They will never win the league like this,” he said.
Muzadzi, clearly more professional than his boss, lashed out at his own goalkeeper Chipula, who he says had told the referee that he had pulled a muscle.
Ntini, on the other hand, said his keeper had broken a finger and now between the coach and the goalkeeper, one of them has to be lying.
Added time is never issue-six minutes from Chifaka’s antics, five from the goalkeeper and five of optional time which comes from any of “substitutions, assessment of injury to players, removal of injured players from the field of play for treatment, wasting time and any other cause.”
