Zimpapers Logo

Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
VETERAN Hwange striker, Gilbert Zulu, took his goal tally to 14 from 20 games after his solitary strike for the coalminers secured maximum points at the expense of army side, Indlovu Iyanyathela, at the weekend.

Hwange maintained a five-point lead over second-placed Tsholotsho in the Southern Region Division League with 41 points from 20 outings, keeping their hopes of a quick Premiership return alive.

Zulu seems to be scoring for fun in the second tier league, with his experience coming in handy for the coalminers, who seem to be firmly in control of the title race.

Tsholotsho, who were also relegated from the topflight together with Hwange last season, have done reasonably well to keep the log leaders on their toes.

The Zhwane Boys, as Tsholotsho are affectionately known, had utility player Tinashe Mthimkhulu’s brace to thank for their 2-1 victory over army side Moto Moto.
Mthimkhulu, who is on loan from Chicken Inn, has scored seven goals for Tsholotsho.

Third-placed ZPC Hwange were held to a goalless draw by Bosso 90.

Mkhuphali Masuku’s Talen Vision had to dig deep to beat stubborn ZRP Bulawayo 2-0 at Gifford High School on Saturday, with both goals coming in the second half.

Defender, Felix Moyo, gave Vision the lead through a header before Brian Muza buried midfielder Heritein Masuku’s pin-point pass to secure the points.

“This was a hard-fought win for us and credit goes to the boys,” said Mkhuphali.

ZRP Bulawayo coach, Rodgers Ndlovu, was disappointed with the loss, but is confident his side will escape from the basement of the log.

“We’ve been playing well, but conceding easy goals. Some defensive lapses, which I think if corrected soon, will see us getting out of the basement. We will certainly not end the season at the bottom of the table,” said Ndlovu.

Zim Leopards’ seven-match winless streak came to an end when they narrowly beat CIWU 1-0 courtesy of a Tonderai Muhambi goal. Zim Leopards’ last victory was on June 23 when they beat Indlovu Iyanyathela 2-1.

Results
Saturday: ZPC Hwange 0-0 Bosso 90, Toronto 1-1 Makomo, Casmyn 0-0 Mainline, Hwange 1-0 Indlovu Iyanyathela, Talen Vision 2-0 ZRP Bulawayo

Sunday: Tsholotsho 2-1 Moto Moto, Mosi Rovers 3-0 NRZ Leopards, Zim Leopards 1-0 CIWU

Table
P W D L F A GD Pts
Hwange 20 14 4 2 37 12 25 46

Tsholotsho 20 11 8 1 23 10 13 41

ZPC Hwange 20 9 8 3 18 9 9 35

I. Iyanyathela 20 9 6 5 28 16 12 33

Talen Vision 20 8 7 5 25 15 10 31

Bosso 90 20 8 7 5 20 14 6 31

Makomo 20 8 6 5 25 23 2 31

CIWU 20 6 8 6 20 19 1 25

Moto Moto 19 5 8 7 16 17 -1 23

Mosi Rovers 20 7 2 11 23 28 -5 23

Casmyn 20 5 6 9 12 21 -9 21

Zim Leopards 20 5 5 10 15 27 -12 20

Main Line 20 5 4 11 13 25 -14 19

Toronto 20 2 12 6 10 18 -8 18

NRZ Leopards 19 3 5 11 11 26 -15 14

ZRP Bulawayo 20 3 4 13 10 26 -16 14

– @ZililoR