Herentals (0) 0
Scottland (2) 2
KNOWLEDGE Musona’s rich vein of form continued yesterday after he netted a brilliant first-half brace to sink high-flying Herentals in a thrilling top-of-the-table clash at Rufaro Stadium yesterday.
The clinical victory propelled Scottland to the summit of the league table, tearing away from the chasing pack to claim sole possession of top spot with 31 points from 16 matches. They sit two points clear of Ngezi Platinum, who climbed into second place after defeating MWOS FC.
Meanwhile, Herentals, who went into the weekend joint-top, paid a heavy price for the defeat, slipping down to fifth place.
Scottland coach Norman Mapeza was full of praise for his charges, particularly pointing out their defensive resilience in the second half.
"First half, massive performance, second half more of the same performance we brought up when we played CAPS United last week," Mapeza said. "It was much to do with our defending, I think we did well in that department. We had some few chances again in the second half but maybe we could have done better in terms of our decision making. But look, I can't take anything away from these boys. They worked so hard and I'm proud of these boys, proud of them."
On the other bench, Herentals FC coach Paul Benza lamented his side’s defensive lapses, labeling them as self-inflicted wounds.
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"We were our own greatest enemies. Those two goals were just easy. I think we are supposed to do better when it comes to defending. We are not supposed to give goals away to the opponent just easily like that," Benza reflected.
"If we had just defended well those two goals, maybe a draw was going to suffice. At the break I just told the boys that we are two goals down. There is no need for us to sit back or to defend. What we are supposed to do now is to try and come back and look for one goal first and then come back into the game. So I encouraged the boys to take the game to the opponent and press them high and to try to win the ball and then try and come back. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a goal but the game plan worked to restrict the opponent from playing," he said.
Scottland were lightning-fast off the blocks and took the lead just nine minutes into the encounter. The in-form veteran forward, Musona, pounced ruthlessly on a loose ball following some lethargic defending from the hosts to break the deadlock.
Ten minutes later, the former Warriors captain returned to haunt Herentals once again. Stepping up to a free-kick, Musona unleashed a brilliant, curling strike that nestled perfectly into the top corner, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance.
The brace took Musona’s impressive tally to four goals in his last three matches, having now found the back of the net in three consecutive outings.
Herentals did finish the first half strongly, with Milton Chimedza and captain Ralph Kawondera both coming agonizingly close to pulling one back before the interval.
The hosts emerged a completely transformed side in the second half, dominating possession and creating several meaningful opportunities. However, they found the resolute Scottland defense impossible to breach.
Veteran forward Innocent Benza thought he had pulled one back with a clever flicked header, but Scottland shot-stopper Nelson Chadya produced a brilliant save to keep the clean sheet intact and secure a massive three points for the new league leaders.
Results
Telone 1-0 Highlanders
Herentals 0-2 Scottland
Ngezi Platinum 1-0 MWOS
*Agama 0-0 Chicken Inn
