Zimpapers Logo

Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
CHICKEN Inn gaffer Joe Antipas (pictured) yesterday blamed the Rufaro Stadium turf for their defeat on Saturday while his How Mine counterpart Luke Masomere hailed the referee for their win at Vengere Stadium on Sunday.How Mine emerged 2-1 winners over new boys Dongo Sawmills and Masomere believes Chiredzi based referee, Jimmy Makwanda played a huge part in that win by his continued bias against his boys.

“I want to give a big thank you to the referee, he played a big part in our win with his bias. His bias invoked a spirit of fighting on the part of my players who fought like a wounded buffalo,” said Masomere.

“The boys realised that all their efforts were being thwarted by the referee and instead of surrendering, they upped their game and I really want to convey my gratitude to that gentleman (Makwanda). However, I must warn him that if he continues doing that in favour of Dongo Sawmills, that team will be relegated this year.”

Masomere’s side has collected four points from the first two games, but he yesterday refused to talk about his team’s chances for a possible league title. He, in fact said that he does not want to lift the title but “will be monitoring events at the top very closely.”

Masomere said there was still room for improvement in terms of performance and adherence to training instructions by his team.

How Mine take on Caps United at Luveve Stadium on Thursday.

Antipas’ boys fell 0-2 to Harare City at Rufaro Stadium.  He feels they were hard done by the artificial turf which is not being properly maintained and thus was difficult to play on.

According to Fifa, unless an artificial pitch is maintained properly, it will lose some of its playing quality in the long term. The ball can become faster over the surface, it will roll unevenly and the ball bounce will vary from place to place. The players will feel uncomfortable running on an uneven surface and frustrated by the inability to control an unpredictable ball.

Says Fifa; “A neglected field will often be a dangerous field, a field that is not maintained can present a number of hazards to the players, which can lead to a variety of injuries.”

Antipas, while conceding that his boys did not really apply themselves fully, said the condition of the turf had a huge impact on the final result.

“By the time we got used to the pitch, we were already 2-0 down. It’s back to the drawing board for us but I think next time we go there we need to have a feel of the match venue on the eve of the game,” said Antipas whose side takes on Tsholotsho at Luveve Stadium on Friday.