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A tough talking PSL boss Twine Phiri said his league will not take the issue lightly as it was a huge embarrassment to the league and the sponsors.

“It does not matter who owns the team, they will be heavily punished. No one is bigger than the sponsors, the league and certainly football. If Motor Action chose to be a law unto themselves and embarrass us and the sponsors then they will be heavily punished and there is no two ways about it,” said Phiri last night.

Motor Action, who won the match 3-0, are owned by the PSL board member finance Eric Rosen.

This is not the first time that the 2010 champions have found themselves in direct confrontation with the league this season.

Two weekends ago, they refused to go to Rufaro Stadium for their league match against Caps United.

Everyone else was wrong except them as the supporters went to the match venue, Caps United went there, the referee and his assistants, the match commissioner as well as the police.

Meanwhile, Bulawayo outfit Chicken Inn have opened a two point gap at the top of the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League but their technical bench remains modest about the championship chances.

The Adam Ndlovu-coached Innscor Africa bankrolled side and Motor Action  remain the only two sides yet to concede a goal, four weeks after the season started.

“We want to be as far away from the relegation zone as possible,” said assistant coach Mandla Mpofu.

Not a flamboyant outfit and certainly not ordinary either, Chicken Inn believe their win over a fancied Caps United in their second game of the season really helped make the boys believe in themselves.

Chicken Inn lead Shabanie Mine who are on eight points while the league’s highest  scorers, Highlanders, with 10 goals, choked up a spirited 1-1 draw against Buffaloes on a bumpy Sakubva Stadium on Sunday. Shabanie Mine drew 2-2 with their noisy neighbours FC Platinum in an incident filled match at Mandava Stadium on Saturday.

“We will wait for the referee’s report before taking action,” said PSL chief executive officer Kennedy Ndebele on the violence that erupted during the Zvishavane derby.

Super substitute Beavan Chikaka rose from the bench to inspire Tshilamoya to a well deserved draw, to prove once again how critical Zambian Kelvin Kaindu’s substitutions have been for Bosso.

Chikaka replaced the out of sorts Peter Moyo whose play has been a bit on the negative.

Chikaka brings to four the number of substitutes that have had a direct impact after being introduced by Kaindu.

First it was young Ozias Zibande who scored the fourth goal in the 4-0 mauling of Blue Rangers then Heritein Masuku came in and scored against Hardbody so did Masimba Mambare and now its Chikaka.

“We did not start well and I think a bit of complacency on the part of my players did not help matter either. We lost a bit of concentration and conceded a free kick and they pounced,” said Kaindu in an interview yesterday.

The questionable decision that Kaindu and crew made was the benching of reliable shot stopper Ariel Sibanda who was replaced by juniors graduate Arshford Katsande. However, Kaindu defended his decision to bench Sibanda.

“I have a pool of 30 players to choose from and everyone must be given a chance. Katsande actually played well,” he said.

The Zambian said he had total belief in his squad and with a bit of luck, they could have driven back home with all the three points in the bag. Highlanders are most likely to be on the road again next Wednesday for the crunch encounter against FC Platinum. They were supposed to play Dynamos at Barbourfields Stadium on Sunday but Harare giants have a continental engagement.

Champions Dynamos returned to action in fine form, destroying Black Mambas 4-1, a result that will be a big boost ahead of their Caf Champions League match against Tunisian giants, Esperance this weekend.

With the win Dynamos are now fourth on the log standings with seven points, the same number as Monomotapa, Motor Action and third placed Highlanders.

At Luveve Stadium, it was a familiar outcome for home side Quelaton who were mauled 3-0 by visiting Motor Action and the sooner the directors at the club realise that Premiership football is different from Division One, the better.

The club seems to be suffering from too much “boys club” syndrome at the expense of results and for head coach Thulani Sibanda to continue singing that the boys are playing well is just not good for the club.

Perhaps they should not have played and beaten Highlanders because the friendly match win somehow brought a misplaced sense of belief to the technical bench that saw them fire any dissenting voices, including experienced players like Njabulo

Ncube and Patrick Mpofu among others. Individually the players are talented and what they need is somebody who will make them believe in themselves and play to win.

The team is already in trouble with authorities after fielding a suspended player, Zibusiso Sibanda, who was red carded in the 3-0 loss to Shabanie Mine.

If a team uses an illegible player, three points are taken away from them and thrown away.

“It means there are already on minus three, if indeed Sibanda was red carded as you claim,” said a source.

On Sunday, they did create chances but somehow failed to utilise them. Skipper Innocent Kutsanzira, left back Joseph Pongolwani and Mhleli Sibanda played well although Pongolwani was later taken out for Amani Makiwa in what seemed like a tactical decision by Sibanda as he sought the elusive equaliser. The shock of the weekend though came from Ascot Stadium where a then winless Hardbody handed Hwange a stunning 2-0 defeat, a win that reportedly led to some ugly scenes back home at the Colliery as some fans sang songs calling for the head of Zambian coach Tennant Chilumba.
His job though is safe, according to secretary Burzil Dube.

“We are not a confused club that fires a coach because of one bad result. Our only worry is over his new appointment as the Zambian Under 23 coach but otherwise the rest does not bother us,” said Dube.

Results
Saturday: Chicken Inn 3, Blue Rangers 0; FC Platinum 2, Shabanie Mine 2, Caps United 1, Harare City 1; Monomotapa 0, Gunners 2;
Sunday: Quelaton 0, Motor Action 3; Dynamos 4, Black Mambas 1, Hardbody 2, Hwange 0, Buffalloes 1, Highlanders 1.