Zimpapers Logo

Tobias Mandoreba Hwange Sports Correspondent
Hwange 0-1 Tsholotsho

A STUNNING 66th minute free kick by captain William Stima was all relegation threatened league debutants Tsholotsho FC needed to make huge strides towards avoiding the dreaded chop.

The visitors travelled to the coal mining town fully aware of the coalminers’ current blistering home form, but Lizwe Sweswe’s lads had no respect for statistics as they were fired up from the first whistle.

Stima was the hero for Tsholotsho when they won a free kick on the edge of the Hwange box after anchorman Collen Muleya had tripped Lynoth Chikuhwa.

He took the responsibility and unleashed a blistering shot that left Hwange goal minder Takabva Mawaya entangled in the nets for close to a minute after unsuccessfully trying to stop the scorcher.

The goal left the Tsholotsho bench and their handful of supporters in a frenzy as they celebrated wildly.

Iziqholo Zezhwane had threatened the Hwange goal with the first realistic chance of the match in the 10th minute.

Overlapping left-back Nkosilathi Moyo picked up an unmarked Chikuhwa inside the box only for the striker to blast his effort way over the bar from close range.

The visitors continued to knit together some delightful passes as the coalminers took long to have any meaningful impact in the match.

Hwange’s first attempt at goal only came in the 22nd minute when defender Tonisai Sibelo’s deflected free kick fell onto the path of Muleya, who, however, blazed his effort way off target from close range.

The coalminers then sprang into life and could have raced into the lead in the 35th minute after left-back Munyaradzi Mungadze’s left-footed strike crashed against the left upright and midfield kingpin Rodwell Chinyengetere also smashed the rebound on the right upright.

Tsholotsho started the second half with the same attacking tempo and were duly rewarded midway the half courtesy of Stima’s wonder strike, which came moments after veteran Joel Lupahla had failed to beat Mawaya from a one-on-one situation after latching onto a delightful pass from Kudzanayi Machazane.

Three minutes after the Tsholotsho goal, Hwange thought they had got the equaliser after Muleya headed home from a goalmouth melee, only for his effort to be disallowed after second assistant referee Saneliso Sibanda spotted an infringement on a Tsholotsho defender in the build-up to the goal.

Hwange stand in head coach Mebelo Njekwa then threw in Farai Vimisai and speedster Newman Sianchali for Innocent Muchenekwa and Pritchard Mpelele respectively as the match wore on, but their introductions failed to yield any dividends as Tsholotsho defended resolutely and in numbers until the final whistle.

Njekwa bemoaned missed chances for their defeat.

“The boys wasted a lot of chances as we were in control of the game for the better part of this encounter. The match was also balanced and I feel we were supposed to get something here, but such is football,” said Njekwa.

An overjoyed Sweswe praised his players for their hard work.

“The boys came with a positive attitude into the match as we attacked with purpose though with caution. This is a big result in the relegation fight and I hope we can carry this forward. I’m also very pleased with the officiating I saw here,” said Sweswe before rushing to join his players in celebrations.

Teams

Hwange: T Mawaya; T Sibelo; G Ndhlovu; D Boriwondo; C Muleya; A Tshuma; I Mucheneka (F Vimisai 66th min); R Chinyengetere; M Mungadze; P Mpelele (N Sianchali 76th min); G Zulu

Tsholotsho: N Marichi; T Ncube; D Dzvinyai; N Moyo; W Stima; B Ncube; K Chitiyo; S Gorogodyo (S Dube 90th min); K Machazane; J Lupahla (R Masuku 90th min); L Chikuhwa (N Gama 76th min).