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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
Bulawayo City 3-1 ZPC Kariba

BULAWAYO City turned on the heat in the second half to beat visiting ZPC Kariba – a result visiting coach Sunday Chidzambwa branded “crazy” after his team surrendered a slender 1-0 lead.

The defeat at Barbourfields Stadium saw ZPC Kariba dropping down two places on the the league table from fourth to sixth after Dynamos and Chicken Inn won their games yesterday.

ZPC Kariba deservedly surged ahead in the sixth minute courtesy of a beautiful volley by attacking midfielder Protasho Kabwe, who beat an offside trap to get to the end of a Godknows Mangani through pass.

The visitors, who controlled the game for the opening 25 minutes, however, fizzled out after the half-hour mark, allowing City to creep back into the game.

City’s winger Emmanuel Mandiranga finished off a good build-up involving Mkhokheli Dube, Mthulisi Maphosa and Eddie Nkulungo in the 33rd minute, beating ZPC Kariba’s goalkeeper Takabva Mawaya with a good strike.

Xolisani Moyo, who replaced Mandiranga at the start of the second half, capped a fine afternoon with an 80th minute goal after exchanging passes with Sipho Ndlovu before chipping the ball over Mawaya.

Six minutes later Trevor Ndlovu put the game beyond the reach of ZPC Kariba when he ghosted from the blind side to meet a long pass from Nkulungo, beat his marker and fired a grounder that gave Mawaya no chance.

“To be honest we seem to have come here for a holiday instead of playing football. Those were schoolboy blunders we made at the back as we lacked concentration and fighting spirit. Our central defence wasn’t there at all and we have to sit down and think whether we want to play football or not.

If we’re to win anything in future, we have to be serious and play better than today,” said Chidzambwa.

“I don’t mind losing with players who want to play and fight. I’m really going crazy because we can’t lose like this. If you’re away and get a leadt that’s a good foundation to get a win, but the guys went to sleep,” he said.

ZPC Kariba looked solid in the opening stages of the game but failed to capitalise on their dominance.

They lost steam after 25 minutes, and things got worse for the visitors when City introduced Moyo, who changed the complexion of the game in favour of the home side.

Moyo’s mazy runs perplexed the opponents as he covered almost every blade of grass.

It wasn’t surprising that City eventually took the lead through a move engineered by Moyo.

City’s stand-in coach Try Ncube was happy with his charges’ response following the early goal they conceded.

“We beat a strong side. We started off slowly and conceded from a swift move by the visitors as we failed to track Kabwe, who made a run from inside. However, I applaud my players’ fighting spirit as we won most duels in midfield and the guys were eager to score. I’m happy with today’s result,” Ncube said.

Teams

Bulawayo City: Ndodana Sibanda, Morris Kadzola, Brian Chikwenya, Brighton Dube, Nyasha Mukumbi, Kelvin Madzingwe, Eddie Nkulungo, Emmanuel Mandiranga (Xolisani Moyo, 46th minute), Mthulisi Maphosa (Sipho Ndlovu, 62nd minute), Mkhokheli Dube, Mkhululi Moyo (Trevor Ndlovu, 71st minute)

ZPC Kariba: Takabva Mawaya, Tawanda Munyanduri, Munyaradzi Kunyarimwe, Boid Mutukure, Sylveter Appiah, Tawanda Nyamandwe, Protasho Kabwe, Elvis Meleka, Talent Chawapihwa (Leonard Fiyado, 79th minute), Timire Mamvura (Never Tigere, 78th minute), Godknows Mangani (Tineyi Chitora, 46th minute)

Results

Saturday: Harare City 0-1 Caps United, Ngezi Platinum Stars 3-0 Hwange, Chapungu 0-2 FC Platinum, Highlanders 1-2 Tsholotsho FC

Yesterday: Border Strikers 0-0 Triangle United, Dynamos 2-0 Mutare City, How Mine 0-1 Chicken Inn, Bulawayo City 3-1 ZPC Kariba

— @ZililoR