CHICKEN Inn started their Castle Lager Premier Soccer League campaign with an emphatic 3-0 win over visiting Harare City at Luveve Stadium yesterday.
Thandiwe Moyo Sports Correspondent
The GameCox made their intentions known from as early as the seventh minute with a goal from Canaan Nkomo. They made it two up through Mkhokheli Dube in the 34th minute. Substitute Ishmael Lawe scored the third in the 89th minute.
Harare City coach Bigboy Mawiwi conceded that it was a bad start for the Sunshine Boys who have been tipped to be one of the championship contenders.
“It is a bad start. In the first 10 minutes (Munyaradzi) Kunyarimwe made a schoolboy blunder and we conceded. We did not have the best of starts. He (Kunyarimwe) — and I even told him — was too casual.
“It is difficult to lift up the game if you let the opposite team score. We wanted to win, but we will go back and correct our mistakes and regroup. We will make sure that we win in our next matches.
“We have to respond. Give us time. We are down today by three points and what we need to do is to win the next game,” a disappointed Mawiwi said.
Chicken Inn coach Joey Antipas applauded his players saying the win would boost their confidence going forward.
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“The boys played well. They put up a good show and this gives them confidence. We overpowered them in the midfield and took control of the battle,” he said.
“We will take each game as it comes and since this is the first we cannot say much about what will happen in the future games. (Liberty Chirava) made a couple of jittery moves, but he needs to gain confidence as we go forward. He is a good goalkeeper,” he said.
From the onset Chicken Inn played an attacking game and their reward came in the seventh minute when Brian Juru found Dube just outside the box. He sent a cross to Nkomo who in turn beat his markers to score.
In the 12th minute former Quelaton and FC Platinum midfielder Mhleli Sibanda’s blistering shot could have troubled Chirava in goals for Chicken Inn, but he saved.
Nkomo was to assist in the build-up of the second goal when he found Tendai Mukambi outside the box. He sent a cross to Dube who beat two of his markers and goalkeeper Maxwell Nyamupanendengu who had come off his line to defend.
The second half did not bring much action from both sides, with Harare City getting their first chance in the 49th minute. Ziwini latched onto a cross from Phineas Bamusi, but his resultant shot was saved by Chirava.
A minute before fulltime Nyamupanendengu was found wanting when he fumbled what seemed to be a weak shot from former Highlanders midfielder Bhekimpilo Ncube, only for Lawe to react quickly and tap in the third.
