HOW MINE . . . . . . . 0 FC PLATINUM . . . . .0 FORTUNE MBELE
FC PLATINUM goalkeeper Petros Mhari came to his side’s rescue making crucial saves in the second half as the Zvishavane-based outfit shared the spoils with How Mine in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL) match at Luveve Stadium, Bulawayo, yesterday.
With the point, How Mine moved to second spot with 22 points at par with leaders Hwange who fell 0-1 to Chicken Inn and, dislodging Highlanders who dropped to position four after losing 0-1 to Dynamos at the National Sports Stadium in Harare.
Dynamos are now on position three, also with 22 points, while FC Platinum are ninth with 15 points.
The first half at Luveve was characterised by unconstructive play from both sides with FC Platinum’s Nelson Mazivisa’s header missing the target in the 26th minute and leading PSL scorer Kuda Musharu’s effort also going wide for How Mine in the 33rd minute.
However, How Mine came back a rejuvenated side in the second half with Mhari making three saves from Timothy January in the 48th and 73rd minutes and from a Wonder Sithole strike in the 68th minute.
FC Platinum’s only chance came six minutes before the final whistle from a counter attack with substitute Allen Gahadzikwa setting up Thabani Kamusoko, whose shot fell straight into the hands of How Mine goalkeeper Ephraim Mazarura.
Also having a good game yesterday was How Mine central defender Gilbert Banda, who shut out the pair of Tarisai Rukanda and Maziwisa for the entire 90 minutes.
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How Mine gaffer Philani “Beefy” Ncube said he was happy with his charges’ performance, but was disappointed with the result.
“The performance was fine, but I am not happy with the result. We were playing a seasoned team. We had our chances in the second half, but we could not bury them. We are not talking about the championship as we are just competing with the others. Our objective is not winning the championship, but to survive relegation because as it stands, no team is safe at the moment,” Ncube said.
His counterpart Lloyd Mutasa said his boys did not play the usual passing football and blamed that on the condition of the pitch. “We could not string as many passes as possible. The surface is not that good, but a draw was a fair result. We did not create any chances. It’s the game of football,” Mutasa said.
TEAMS HOW MINE: E Mazarura, B Dube, J Chitereki, G Magariro, G Banda, M Mupera, W Sithole (G Nguwodzawo 69th minute), E Muzanenhamo, K Musharu, H Masuku (B Marere 54th minute), T January FC PLATINUM: P Mhari, S Shoko, Q Amini, J Marufu, D Vheremu, T Kamusoko, N Maziwisa, W Mutasa (S Sibanda 67th minute), T Rukanda, M Mudehwe (A Gahadzikwa 47th minute), M Katsvairo (A Katebe 47th minute)
