ZPC unstoppable

Sport
Unbeatable newcomers ZPC Kariba made it 16 matches unbeaten in their opening 16 matches of the PSL match when they beat Chicken Inn in an entertaining match

Unbeatable newcomers ZPC Kariba made it 16 matches unbeaten in their opening 16 matches of the Castle Lager Premier League match when they beat Chicken Inn in an entertaining match at Luveve Stadium yesterday afternoon.

Own Correspondent Chicken Inn …(0) ZPC Kariba …..(1)

Substitute Luckmore Makura who had come in as a second- half substitute for the injured Pride Tafirenyika curled a beautiful free- kick after 61 minutes that nestled into the top right corner to beat Elvis chipezeze the Chicken Inn goalkeeper. Referee Mandlenkosi Sibanda had awarded the free-kick after veteran striker Limited Chikafa was hacked down just outside the penalty box.

There was little action in the first half to talk about, although George Majika who continues to gain confidence in the Chicken Inn starting line-up hit the side netting in the closing minutes of the first half.

With both teams reserved, Chicken Inn started the second half strongly and as they pushed forward, a long pass from the back saw Chikafa brought down resulting in a foul and the wonder goal from Makura – who has not been featuring in the ZPC Kariba team due to injury – securing the victory and the points for the power generators.

Chicken Inn substitute Ishmael Lawe was unlucky after 71 minutes when his long-range effort was saved by the impressive visiting goalkeeper Tendai Hove, who could not collect it once, but reacted quickly to deny Clemence Matawu who had responded to the rebound.

A late charge by the hosts saw central defender Lawrence Mhlanga rise high with a powerful header that was cleared from the line by ZPC Kariba defender Dexter Phiri in stoppage time signalling a bad day in the office for the Bulawayo team.

Joey Antipas (pictured) the Chicken Inn coach attributed the loss of points to the beautiful free-kick that separated the two teams.

“We lost to a brilliant goal, we seem to be struggling here at Luveve, but we have a good team that has young players and experienced players and will keep working hard,” he said.

His counterpart Saul Chaminuka could not hide his excitement: “We wanted to catch them on the break as we thought they would go for an all attack, but just like us they were laid back. It took team work and the good goal to settle this one.

“We are not thinking of the title, but it’s about improving and avoiding relegation. We travel a lot, so a point would have been good, but we are happy that we are winning now,” he said.