Valentine’s show inspires Ngezi Platinum

Sport
BY TERRY MADYAUTA NGEZI PLATINUM . . . . . . . . . . . 3 WHAWHA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 A BRILLIANT Valentine Kadonzvo brace and a own goal by Leonard Jani was all Ngezi Platinum needed to […]

BY TERRY MADYAUTA

NGEZI PLATINUM . . . . . . . . . . . 3

WHAWHA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0

A BRILLIANT Valentine Kadonzvo brace and a own goal by Leonard Jani was all Ngezi Platinum needed to dispatch poor Whawha in a Chibuku Super Cup Group 4 tie played at Mandava Stadium in Zvishavane yesterday.

On his debut for the Mhondoro-Ngezi team, Kadonzvo produced a classy performance to inspire his side to a comfortable win over a team that now holds an awful record of conceding nine goals in two matches.

The skilful winger proved Ngezi head coach Rodwell Dhlakama right on his decision to pin the player down despite a potential contractual wrangle with his former paymasters, Chicken Inn.

Kadonzvo gave the platinum miners a sixth minute lead with a goal of individual brilliance, another potential contender for goal of the tournament after he was picked unmarked on the right flank by  Wellington Taderera.

Receiving the ball, V11 as he is affectionately known, carried it to the touchline before swiftly cutting inside past a static Terrence Daka to unleash a curling left footer into the near post with goalie Simon Nyama rooted on the spot.

After 30 minutes Whawha defender Leonard Jani doubled Ngezi Platinum’s scores after misdirecting his header into his own nets from a Denver Mukamba corner kick.

Kadonzvo completed his brace on the 42nd minute mark when he poked the ball home from another pinpoint Mukamba delivery.

Bouyed by the top-notch performance, Kadonzvo said he was yet to reach his best.

“I will definitely try my best to reach the top level of my game. It’s a good start and I am really looking forward to contribute so much to the team now that I am registered,” he said.

“Today was a team effort and I am really happy we managed to win this game to kept our ambitions alive.”

Ngezi had a good show and could have won by a bigger margin, but on numerous occasions their efforts missed the target.

Mukamba, in particular, was profligate.

Whawha played second fiddle for the better part of game, although former Dynamos striker King Nasama showed some flashes of brilliance.

Even Luke Petros’ second half substitutes could not change anything, but it is his defenders whose performance remain a cause for concern, after letting through nine goals this far.

However, the former Kaizer Chiefs man opined that their performance against Ngezi was a marked improvement from their first match against FC Platinum where they lost 6-0.

“I am overally happy with the performance because there is a slight improvement from the previous match which we lost to FC Platinum.

“I am taking positives from this one although I have to admit that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done as far as polishing up the team for the upcoming season.

“We have a youthful team that can win eventually if we keep drilling them for big assignments and as well to boost their confidence because this far, it seems they are low on confidence,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ngezi Platinum head coach Dhlakama was reserved in his comments, in anticipation of what promised to be the Group 4 thriller against FC Platinum on Thursday.

“I am not going to take this win as a marker for the next game, but I am delighted because we are still managing to get results at each and every step we take.

“We need to improve and give each player a chance to show himself before we start the season. So far I am happy with each player’s contribution,” he said.

Ngezi Platinum: N Chadya, D Chafa (A Makopa 76), D Mukamba, P Moyo, G Takwara, Q Amini, W Taderera (J Zindoga 80), A Chivandire (N Makumbe 60), M Mukamba, K Murera, V Kadonzvo(N Chintuli 61).

Whawha: S Nyama (T Chiku 63) , R Useni, T Saka, J Gadzani (A Matope 79), R Matutu, L Jani, E Mawanda (N Tshuma 72), E Muzanenhamo, A Matewu (D Madzinga 63), K Nasama, X Ncube

  • Follow Terry on Twitter @madyautatpm

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