Drama as Div 1 teams clash Johannes Ngodzo

Raymond Jaravaza, Sports Correspondent 

Indlovu Iyanyathela 0-1 Bulawayo City

LOG leaders, Bulawayo City, maintained pole position after edging Indlovu Iyanyathela in a drama filled Zifa Southern Region Division One match for which blundering referee Bekithemba Moyo turned up without caution cards.

Moyo was forced to resort to verbally cautioning players, as he had no yellow or red cards, and upon realising this, the players literally turned the match at Mzilikazi Barracks on Sunday into a rugby contest with reckless and crude tackles.

Bulawayo City were awarded a penalty in the 20th minute when Trevor Ndlovu was “fouled” in the box by an Indlovu Iyanyathela defender.

There was a four-minute stoppage as officials and players from both teams quarrelled over the legitimacy of the spot kick.

The penalty was finally taken by veteran defender, Zephaniah Ngodzo, who sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to give Bulawayo City the lead. An off duty referee saved the situation from further deteriorating when he brought the caution cards to the match venue at half time.

Indlovu Iyanyathela manager, Blessing Mbwanda was left seething with anger in the manner the referee handled the match.

“We are writing an official complaint to Zifa for the way the referee handled the match. For starters, how could he officiate  for 45 minutes of the game without caution cards and then he goes on to award Bulawayo City a dubious penalty. This kind of officiating goes against the principles of fair play. Teams must win on merit not with the assistance of referees,” said Mbwanda.

Bulawayo City assistant coach Johannes Ngodzo said the win at Mzilikazi Barracks silenced their critics, who had argued that the log leaders are not as lethal when playing away.

“It was a tough match and a well-deserved win for us, but most importantly we have proved to our critics that we can play anywhere and still win games. The surface of the field is not what we are used to at our home ground Luveve Stadium, but we just proved that even here at Indlovu Iyanyathela we can still play good football. I think the penalty was legitimate, our player was fouled in the box,” said Ngodzo.

Indlovu Iyanyathela coach, Clemence Chimimba, reckons the referee should have delayed kick-off until he had caution cards.

“He could have delayed the match until someone brought him the cards instead of taking a gamble like he did. Once the players realised that the referee did not have caution cards they started kicking and tackling each other recklessly. We played a good game, but I feel we were hard done by that penalty,” said Chimimba.

— @RaymonsJaravaza

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