DYNAMOS . . . . . . . .(0) 1 CHICKEN INN . . . . .(0) 1 BRIAN Mbiriri rescued Chicken Inn from the jaws of defeat with a stunning second half volley that left Dynamos goalkeeper Artwell Mukandi rooted to the spot in a lively Castle Lager Premiership football match at Gwanzura Stadium yesterday.
TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
Dynamos had gone into the lead just two minutes into the second half through a well-taken penalty by Rodreck Mutuma after referee Munyaradzi Majoni adjudged that Lawrence Mhlanga had handled the ball as he battled to clear the lines following a shot by Democratic Republic of Congo international striker Fabrice Mbimba.
Mutuma accepted the responsibility and coolly slotted home from the resultant spot kick to send the Dynamos faithful into a frenzy.
Those celebrations, however, proved temporary as Mbiriri displayed stunning athleticism to beat the goalkeeper with a 25-yard volley — a strong contender for the goal of the season.
Chicken Inn coach Joey Antipas spoke glowingly about the player.
“He is a free-kick specialist and I was really not surprised when he scored. It was a classic goal. I thought it was a balanced tie, but we deserved at least a point. But we still have a lot to do, especially in attack which we need to sharpen. We are rebuilding the team after losing some players like Tendai Ndoro and Kuda Mahachi and we hope to improve in our next game against Hwange,” Antipas said.
His counterpart Kalisto Pasuwa said his side lacked fluidity which he attributed to lack of match fitness in some of the players.
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Pasuwa made changes to the team with Oscar Machapa and Devon Chafa starting alongside Mbimba.
The DRC forward imposed himself in the match with some deft touches which kept fans on the edges of their seats.
“We were second to the ball and missed a number of chances especially in the first half. We didn’t play well possibly because of the changes we made due to injury of some of our players. Now we have to rectify the mistakes and go to face Highlanders in our next match with a compact team,” Pasuwa said.
Chicken Inn dropped to 11th position on the league table with 21 points, while Dynamos remained on third position with 32 points behind log leaders Highlanders despite the Bulawayo giants falling 1-0 to army side Black Rhinos.
