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ZPC Hwange lost 1-2 to Black Boots on Saturday to surrender their 12-match unbeaten run in the Southern Region Soccer League. The defeat left the power company glued to third position with 26 points, a point behind leaders Bulawayo City and Bulawayo Chiefs, who are tied on 27 points.

However, Chiefs lead the table by a superior goal difference.

For Black Boots, the victory against ZPC Hwange has brought an aura of belief with coach Kudzai Mutuda saying the win signals the beginning of better things for his team.

Black Boots got their goals through Remmington Masuku and Bartnos Makwira while Barnabas Mudambu got ZPC Hwange’s consolation.

“I’m happy that we’re getting our act together. We’ve been playing well of late but results were eluding us. Sometimes, a little bit of luck is what you need and hopefully the victory against ZPC Hwange, especially at their home ground, brings joy to the players as well as some sense of belief going forward. This could be the break we needed and we’ll continue working hard,” said Mutuda.

Black Boots are ninth on the table with 19 points after 13 outings.

Mutuda also believes it’s early days to rule them out of the championship race.

“This championship race is a marathon and anything can happen. We’re nine points behind the leaders and who knows; teams at the top might drop points along the way and boom we’re back into the title race,” he said.

Competition in the promotional league is stiff and for Black Boots to return into contention, they would have to pray hard that Chiefs and City continue to drop points along the way.

City and Chiefs played to a goalless draw in the city derby on Saturday.

With the season approaching the halfway mark, the championship race is likely to be a two-team race between Chiefs and City.

ZPC Hwange, Technosphere and Bantu Rovers are also in contention for the title race, meaning the ambitious Black Boots must maintain their momentum.

Technosphere took their unbeaten run to 10 games in style by beating Mpumalanga United 3-1 in a Hwange derby.

Double scorer Bekithemba Nyoni and Vumani Sibanda ensured Technosphere moved to within five points of City.

Rovers were the weekend’s biggest winners, clobbering Amagagasi 4-0. The former Premiership side got their goals from Bukhosi Sibanda, Tshidzani Annot Malaba and double scorer Lenience Mpofu.

Meanwhile, ZPC Munyati’s 10-match unbeaten run screeched to a halt on Saturday when they were edged 0-1 at home by a youthful Chrome Stars in a Zifa Central Soccer League fixture.

A 78th minute effort by Victor Moyo was enough for the chrome miners to collect maximum points and cut the electricity generators’ lead to a point on the table.

Stars are now on 23 points while ZPC Munyati and Tongogara are tied at the top on 24 points, although the power company retains top spot on goal difference.

Chrome Stars coach, Yolamu Ngwira was over the moon following the victory.

“This is a sweet victory for us, more so that we achieved the result in their backyard and it was their first defeat of the season. I’m proud of my youngsters and we want to maintain the momentum and see how things turn out,” said Ngwira.

His ZPC Munyati counterpart, Rutherford Matondo conceded defeat.

“We dominated for the better part of the match but we failed to convert our chances and they scored against the run of play. That’s how cruel football can sometimes be, but we’ve to pick ourselves up and focus on the upcoming games,” Matondo said.

In other weekend matches, Shabanie Mine maintained their 100 percent home record by clobbering a hapless ZETDC Southern Region 4-1 at Maglas Stadium; a result which saw the former Premiership outfit taking their points tally to 24, four points behind the leaders.

Second-placed Tongogara maintained their fine run by dismissing Ivan Hoe 3-1 in a Kwekwe derby.

Results

Southern Region

Saturday: Technosphere 3-1 Mpumalanga, Ntabazinduna 1-0 Old Nic Mine, ZPC Hwange 1-2 Black Boots, Hwange Juniors 1-2 Casmyn, Bulawayo Chiefs 0-0 Bulawayo City, Indlovu Iyanyathela 1-0 Nust.

Sunday: Bantu Rovers 4-0 Amagagasi, Makomo 1-0 Trumus.

Table

P W D L F A GD Pts

Bulawayo City 13 8 3 2 17 4 13 27

Bulawayo Chiefs 13 8 3 2 16 6 10 27

ZPC Hwange 13 7 5 1 13 5 8 26

Technosphere 13 6 4 3 17 8 9 22

Casmyn 13 6 4 3 11 11 0 22

Bantu Rovers 13 6 3 4 16 10 6 21

Makomo 13 6 3 4 11 9 2 21

Ntabazinduna 12 6 2 4 16 10 6 20

Black Boots 13 5 4 4 15 12 3 19

Indlovu Iyanyathela 13 5 3 5 9 9 0 18

Amagagasi 13 3 6 4 11 15 -4 15

Trumus 13 2 7 4 5 8 -3 13

Nust 13 1 5 7 5 14 -9 8

Old Nic Mine 13 1 6 6 7 20 -13 8

Hwange Juniors 13 1 3 9 8 20 -12 6

Mpumalanga 12 1 2 9 4 20 -16 5

Central Region: ZPC Munyati 0-1 Chrome Stars, Sable Chemicals 1-0 Vumbachikwe, Ivan Hoe -3 Tongogara, Gweru United 0-1 FC Platinum Under-19, Shabanie Mine 4-1 ZETDC Southern Region, Mvuma Stars 0-0 Blanket Mine, Silo United 0-1 Border Strikers.