BY DANIEL NHAKANISO IN TRIANGLE
Triangle . . . . . . . . . . . 0
ZPC Kariba . . . . . . . . . . . 0
TRIANGLE saw their winless streak in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League stretched to five matches yesterday after they were held to a goalless draw by a 10-man ZPC Kariba at Gibbo Stadium.
The visitors finished the match with 10 men after defender Byron Madzokere was red-carded in the 75th over a foul on Triangle striker Donald Ngoma in an off-the-ball incident.
The incident was initially missed by the match referee Busani Siwawa, who only made the decision to send Madzokere for an early shower after consulting with his assistant Jimmy Makwanda.
Despite the numerical advantage, Triangle were unable to find the elusive win as they were held to their third successive stalemate, while they are also now winless in five matches.
The Sugar Boys’ last victory came on May 15 when they thumped Cranborne Bullets 5-2 at their Gibbo fortress.
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Yesterday’s draw felt like a defeat for Triangle, who were desperate to return to winning ways against a ZPC Kariba side which has won only four times in 20 matches this season. But they were not able to find the elusive goal after creating good chances.
“It’s frustrating that we keep dropping points at home especially after creating all the chances,” Triangle coach Jairos Tapera said after the match.
“We had so many opportunities in the second half and we just needed to convert one but that’s how football is sometimes. The only consolation for me is that we are creating the opportunities, so we have somewhere to start from and we only need to work on our finishing,” he added.
Triangle remain sixth on the log with 31 points from 20 matches, while ZPC Kariba dropped to 15th position on the log with a paltry 19 points from 20 matches.
Tapera’s ZPC Kariba counterpart Rodwell Dhlakama said he was pleased to collect a point away from home, but admitted that his side is now under pressure to start collecting points.
“It’s a good point considering we were playing away from home, but overall I think it’s a disappointing result because we are in the relegation zone and we now need to start picking points.”
The first half was a fairly evenly contested affair, with neither side able to grab the game by the scruff of the neck and dominate proceedings.
The home side created the first noteworthy chance of the game in the 16th minute, but the opportunity came to nothing as Tinashe Kabanda saw his tame effort saved after a Gerald Bhero cut back from the left-wing.
However, it was the host who would create the best chance of the match 10 minutes later when veteran forward Newman Sianchali missed a glorious opportunity to score for the visitors after seeing his effort come off the post.
Sianchali continued to trouble the Triangle defenders in the first half and in the 35th minute his rasping effort went wide after good work from Vassilli Kawe.
While Triangle created the better chances in the first half, the second stanza completely belonged to the home side as they pushed for a winner.
Emmanuel Mawuna came close to breaking the deadlock three minutes into the second half when his effort was cleared after a good cross from Jameson Mukombwe.
Veteran striker Ngoma saw his header cannon off the upright after he had connected a fine cross from Mukombwe in the 50th minute before Walter Sande’s good shot from close range was cleared off the line, barely a minute later.
The hosts had an opportunity to grab the winner after ZPC Kariba were reduced to 10 men late in the match, but the visitors put on a disciplined defensive effort till the end.
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