BY HENRY MHARA
HARARE CITY . . . . . (0) 1
TENAX . . . . . . . . . . . . (0) 1
“WE’RE doing injustice to ourselves,” is how Harare City coach Tawurayi Mangwiro described his team’s performance after the Sunshine City boys blew numerous chances to settle for a draw against visiting Tenax at the National Sports Stadium yesterday.
The home side, which enjoyed the lion’s share of ball possession in the entire match, had to come from behind to snatch a point in a game it squandered over a dozen chances.
Panashe Mutasa’s half volley on the run gave Tenax a surprise lead after 52 minutes, which was his team’s first shot on target. The Mutare-based side had just two shots on target in the entire match.
Substitute Wilfred Muvirimi then cancelled the effort with a header off a Spencer Masunda cross on 72nd minute, and despite creating more chances thereafter, the home side couldn’t convert, leaving Mangwiro frustrated.
“We could have won the match, but we came up against a team that knows its strengths very well,” Mangwiro said.
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“They played to their strengths. We created numerous opportunities and our biggest challenge remains leaking goals because if you look at how many times Tenax came at us, they scored from one of their rare attacks, and you compare with the times we probed them. That is the injustice that we are doing to ourselves. But the point gained should give us the much-needed confidence going forward since it has atoned for two consecutive defeats, so we will look to the future with a brighter mind.”
City came into the match desperate to turn around their fortunes following two straights defeats to Dynamos and ZPC Kariba.
Despite failing to collect maximum points against one of the so-called weaker teams, Mangwiro is hopeful.
“It’s work in progress, and as a coach, I don’t want to despair because when the team is creating chances, then you know you just need to instil precision in your players,” he said.
“It’s different from a team which is barren, which is not doing anything in front of goal. For us, it’s promising and we hope we will soon be getting it right. I have seen a lot of promise in what I’m doing and it is just a matter of time. We seem to be working well, but this is a result-oriented job and the team should start garnering some points.”
Yesterday’s draw leaves City on 12th position with 11 points from 11 matches.
For Tenax, a draw on the road was a good result for them and it came on the back of two consecutive wins against Caps United and ZPC Kariba.
The form and yesterday’s result left coach Shadreck Mugurasave a satisfied man.
“I’m satisfied with the result because we are a small team coming from Division One. I’m really happy with the performance of my boys, and I’m sure we are going to leave a mark in the Premier Soccer League. I’m sure we are going to beat some big teams,” he said.
Tenax is on 11th position with 13 points.
City threatened early on, but Tenax goalkeeper Philip Makumi kept his side in the match with two point-blank saves to deny Jerry Chipangura and Emmanuel Mandiranga.
They continued to create chances, but the closest they came to scoring in the first half was when Spencer Masunda’s rocket hit the upright, while Clive Rupiya could not keep his header down on target from a yard out.
Donald Dzvinyai was put through, but dragged his shot wide with only Makumi to beat. This was one of the numerous chances that the midfielder wasted.
Then against the run of play, Tenax took the lead. A long ball from the left channel found Mutasa, who controlled well before volleying past City goalkeeper.
City looked for an immediate response, but substitutes Tatenda Tumba and Muvirimi wasted glorious chances.
The equaliser eventually came when Tumba’s short corner found Masunda, whose gorgeous cross was guided into the net by Muvirimi.
Mangwiro’s men pushed for an equaliser, but Tenax held on for a precious point.
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