BY HENRY MHARA
CRANBORNE BULLETS . . . . 0
BULAWAYO CHIEFS . . . . . . . 0
BULAWAYO CHIEFS climbed to the top of the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League table after holding Cranborne Bullets at the National Sports Stadium in Harare yesterday.
The Bulawayo side moved to four points following their contentious 1-0 win over Triangle in round one of the fixtures coupled with yesterday’s share of the spoils.
Chiefs coach Nilton Terroso admitted that they got away with it after they allowed the home side to dominate ball possession in the first half.
“In the first half, we were outplayed, we didn’t get what we had planned about right,” the Portuguese said.
“We were conceding too much space, we were allowing Cranborne to play between lines. We were lucky to a certain point that we didn’t concede in the first half. In the second half, we were more compact. We had the ball, we were able to control the game and managed to create a few chances. Overall, looking at the two halves, I think a draw was fair.”
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It’s almost certain Chiefs will be dislodged off their current position on the log standings by the end of round two fixtures tomorrow, but Terroso is happy with how his team has started the season.
“Picking four points in the first two matches is not a bad start for us. It’s a foundation that we have to build from,” he said.
Cranborne looked threatening early on and should have taken the lead when Everson Feremba came eye ball to eye ball with the goalkeeper David Bizabani in the 15th minute, but his attempted lob failed to came off.
The striker went even closer a minute later when he met a Moreblessing Mushangwe cross, only to be denied by the cross bar.
Early in the second half, Tinotenda Meke roasted his marker and forced a good save from Bizabani.
Chiefs soon took over, and started bossing the match, with Farawu Matare making a nuisance of himself.
But for all their industry, they never really worked Cranborne Bullets goalkeeper Tatenda Makoni In the last 15 minutes, the game was split, more like a tennis match with both teams trying to get a sucker punch.
Cranborne coach Nesbert Saruchera was also happy with the point.
“It was a game of two halves. We dominated in the first half, but we couldn’t break them down. We couldn’t score from about three of four opportunities that we created,” he said.
“In the second half, they dominated, but in terms of creating chances, they never did. This is our first point of the season, so we are happy because it shows we are progressing.
“We are now focussing on the next encounter, where will be targeting to collect maximum points. We are happy with the way we are playing as a team.”
Cranborne face Dynamos in their next encounter.
Teams
Cranborne Bullets: T Makoni, T Sibanda, L Zvasiya, M Mushangwe, D Mbewe, T Kachembere, W Kapinda, M Namakona, T Meke, T Chibunyu, E Feremba
Bulawayo Chiefs: D Bizabani, B Nyahunzvi, M Gasela, H Chikosa, L Ndlela, M Mkolo, M Msebe, B Veremu, F Moyo, E Chikwende, F Matare
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