FC Platinum winless streak continues

Sport
Norman Mapeza

FC PLATINUM...................(0) 2

MANICA DIAMONDS........(0) 2

DEFENDING Champions FC Platinum’s hopes of retaining their championship suffered yet another blow after they blew away a two-goal lead to settle for a 2-2 draw with Manica Diamonds at Mandava stadium yesterday.

It was an end-to-end affair in which the Zvishavane side failed to capitalise on home advantage as they further lost ground on their title defence.

The draw, which came on the back of two consecutive draws and a loss in their last three matches certainly added pressure on coach Norman Mapeza, who on Monday threatened to quit following a controversial defeat at the hands of Herentals.

They opened the scoresheet on the 47th having ended the first half deadlocked. Lawrence doubled the scores just after the hour mark.

At that moment it appeared they were destined for a win. However, they crumbled like a deck of cards on the 65th minute when Gerald Bero reduced the deficit via a penalty.

From then on Manica Diamonds were in the driving seat and they deservedly equalised on the 80th minute through Fortune Binzi.

That was a huge turning point as Fortune Binzi came near again on the 83rd minute. And Norman Mapeza was disappointed by the result.

"It's disappointing that we failed to get the result we wanted. We are creating the chances but failing to score," Mapeza said.

"It's still a marathon race and we hope to recover in the next encounter. Our players are showing good character but there is still a lot of work to do.

"For now, we have to focus on the next game. It’s going to be tough but we will pull through."

His counterpart Jairos Tapera was full of praises after his team rose to the occasion.

"This was a tough game, but we managed to pull strings and get the crucial goals that we needed to get a point away,” said Tapera.

"This was probably one of the most tactical matches we played but we managed to live up to expectations," Tapera said.

FC Platinum have themselves to blame. They created chances to win the match, with Walter Musona and Brian Banda missing sitters.

Castle Lager Premier Soccer Results and Fixtures

Yesterday: Yadah 0-1 CAPS United, FC Platinum 2-2 Manica Diamonds, Chicken Inn 2-1 Herentals, Green Fuel 0-0 ZPC Kariba

Today: Dynamos v Triangle (National Sports Stadium), Sheasham v Highlanders (Bata), Hwange v Bulawayo Chiefs (Colliery)

Wednesday: Black Rhinos v Ngezi Platinum Stars (National Sports Stadium)

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