CHIREDZI . . . . . . . . .0 DYNAMOS . . . . . .(1) 1 PREMIERSHIP debutants Chiredzi Football Club continued to sing the blues when they fell to their sixth defeat of the season against Dynamos in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match played at Chishamiso Stadium yesterday.
KENNETH NYANGANI IN CHIREDZI
It was another sad day for the Lowveld fans as their teams continued to sink into the relegation waters with each passing week. Their fellow counterparts Triangle are also having a torrid time in their second year in the top-flight after collecting just a mere eight points from a possible 27.
On Saturday, Triangle were hammered 4-0 by FC Platinum in Zvishavane.
Dynamos gaffer Kalisto Pasuwa said Chiredzi could have buried them in the first half.
“Collecting maximum points away from home is always motivating, but I was worried in the first half as we had many holes in our midfield and they could have buried us,” he said.
The home side’s head coach Moses Chunga said they were making life difficult for themselves.
He also cleared the air on the Air Namibia sponsorship after his team’s T-shirts were branded with the airline’s logo.
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“We are making life difficult for our team as we continue to lose points. We need to start collecting maximum points or else things will be difficult for us,” he said.
“We failed to convert the chances that came our way in the first half. We could have scored two or three goals in the first half. On the issue of the Air Namibia sponsorship, it is something in the pipeline and we are trying to lure them.”
Chiredzi were the first to come off the blocks and just two minutes into the game Abel Gwatidzo, who had benefited from a Malvern Gaki cross, shot over the bar.
Diminutive Dynamos midfielder Ronald Chitiyo did well in the seventh minute, shrugging off the challenge from right-back Gift Kwaramba, but his shot inside the box flew over the bar.
The home side controlled ball possession for large chunks of the first half with the visitors depending on counter-attacks.
But as soon Dynamos were in their groove, they probed the Premiership debutants with fierce raids and they were duly rewarded in the 33th minute through striker Patrick Khumbula.
Hard-tackling defender Ocean Mushure did well to find Khumbula, who kept his cool inside the box to beat two opposition markers, before slotting the ball home past Chiredzi goalkeeper Stephen Chimusoro.
Pasuwa then introduced Cliff Sekete for the struggling Russell Madamombe in the 37th minute to dilute the Chiredzi dominance.
Just a minute later, Khumbula, who looked confident unlike in the other matches he has featured in this season, saw his thunderbolt shot hit the cross-bar from just outside the box.
Two minutes later, Khumbula almost doubled the lead, but he headed wide off a Simba Sithole cross.
Dynamos started the second-half on a strong footing, but it was Chimusoro who kept the home side in the match with a good save that denied an off-colour Sithole off a Tafadzwa Rusike cross.
In the 50th minute Sithole made a solo run that saw him beating a cluster of defenders, but his shot was saved by Chimusoro for a corner kick.
Searching for an insurance goal in the 57th minute, Sekete received a cross from Chitiyo before delicately chipping the ball to Khumbula inside the box, but Chimusoro was again called into action.
Chiredzi right-wing Tapiwa Dephistara made good work of his opposition markers before sending a whipping cross into the box, but striker Malvern Gaki was muscled off the ball by impressive defender Partson Jaure in the 61th minute.
Chiredzi introduced Nelson Phillip for veteran striker Norman Maroto in the 67th but his presence did not change the complexion of the match.
Three minutes later, the home side missed a clear-cut chance after Gwatidzo hit the side netting with Dynamos goalkeeper George Chigova at sea.
