Kariba . . . . (1) 2 Highlanders . . . (0) 0
ZPC KARIBA finally rediscovered their winning formula despatching Highlanders through goals from Never Tigere and Godknows Mangani in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match played at Nyamhunga Stadium yesterday.
BY NUNURAI JENA
But Highlanders coach, Erol Akbay felt his team was hard done by referee, Nomore Masundire and alleged a conspiracy against his team.
Akbay said the referee made it difficult for his players to play, as most decisions went against them.
“What I can say today is that the referee was the big boss. I’ve no idea what Zifa is doing about this kind of refereeing, but today it was very bad,” he said.
“We failed to play because most decisions were against us and my players could not do anything with this kind of officiating, it’s bad.”
A win had eluded ZPC Kariba in their previous five matches and this one against giants Bosso was a sweet one.
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The home side made their intentions clear right from the beginning when Talent Chamboko placed his header wide in the second minute after a good play by striker, Limited Chikafa.
Raphael Manuvire missed the target from close range in the 21st minute with Highlanders keeper, Ariel Sibanda a beaten man.
ZPC Kariba got it right in the 44th minute when free-kick specialist, Tigere found the nets from a dead ball situation just outside the Highlanders penalty box. But Highlanders felt the goal should not have stood arguing that Sibanda was obstructed by Chikafa.
After the break, ZPC Kariba continued to pile pressure and were duly rewarded when man-of–the–match Mangani’s rising shot beat Sibanda on 68 minutes after a good build-up from the left flank.
Highlanders had their moments, but Gabriel Nyoni, Denzel to Khumalo and Tendai Ngulube failed to utilise the chances that came their way.
Even the introduction of dependable striker, Ralph Matema in the second half could not turn the tide and they were frustrated by the referee.
But ZPC Kariba coach, Sunday Chidzambwa was a happy man after threatening to quit over lack of effort from his charges.
“Any team in football goes through a bad spell and I think we had hit one, which was very bad. We managed to solve our problems with the players, management and executive. Today my players put a little bit of effort, but they can do better” he said.
