Black Rhinos. . . . . . . (1) 1 Nichrut. . . . . . . . . . . . . (0) 1
NICHRUT made life difficult for themselves in their struggle to avoid relegation when they dropped two points against Black Rhinos at the National Sports Stadium yesterday, a result that left them deep in murky waters.
BY GARISH PHIRI
On days when all their relegation rivals picked maximum points, Nichrut also needed to collect all the three points to give themselves a fighting chance.
However, they had to dig deep to even get the point and could look back frowningly at this result when the final tallies are made at the end of the season. Rhinos, who are not really secure themselves, as they need another point to be sure, went ahead on the 25th minute when Augustine Mbara connected home with his head off a Farai Banda corner kick.
The visitors fought back, looking for an equaliser and almost got it on the stroke of halftime, but Gerald Bhero’s shot struck the cross bar.
They pushed harder in the second half and were duly rewarded with nine minutes remaining when Bhero fired in a rebound after Rhinos goalkeeper Herbet Rusawo had spilled a powerful volley by Ephraim Mwinga.
Both teams pushed for a winner in the closing stages of the match, but in the end, a draw was probably a fair result.
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With the draw, Nichrut remains stuck on 15th position, the relegation cut-off point, but their coach Michael Ngore said they will take the point.
“For us, every point counts now, especially when we get it on the road. Nobody gave us a chance, but we came and got one point, fair enough. We were playing a good side as you saw and I hope this sets the tone for us in our bid for survival. Definitely we will survive; we still have three rounds of matches to play. It’s not time for us to give up the fight, so we will fight on. We still feel that the destiny is still in our hands,” Ngore said.
Black Rhinos coach Herbet Maruwa was also satisfied with the point, knowing that if they pick another one in their next match away to Chicken Inn, they would be safe from relegation.
“Sometimes football is not fair, (because) after controlling the better part of the game my boys went to sleep just for a minute and they got punished. But still the point is okay,” he said.
Black Rhinos: H Rusawo, E Chirinji, B Homora, F Banda, A Mbara, V Mhandu (M Mambare, 56′), W Kapinda, T Jaravani, L Chiunga (H Chimutimudzeve, 87′) W Taderera (K Dhlamini, 65′), D Mudadi
Nichrut: T Jabangwe, N Mpinduki, S Sithole (C Rusere, 70′), D Boriwondo, W Pakamisa (T Hapazari, 52′), E Mwinga, F Vimisayi (A Kanchwanchwa, 80′) A Maliselo, N Moyo, G Bhero, A Nhongo
