How Mine……….. (0) 1 Black Rhinos…………0 HOW MINE defied all odds to book a berth in the Mbada Diamonds Cup quarter-finals after narrowly upstaging army outfit Black Rhinos in an entertaining fixture at Barbourfields Stadium yesterday. THANDIWE MOYO OWN CORRESPONDENT
Substitute Timothy January’s solitary strike in the 69th minute ensured the miners cruised into the next round of the lucrative million dollar cup.
January, introduced 10 minutes into the second half for Nqobile Mpala, proved to be an asset when he scored the only goal for How Mine. He received the ball in the middle of the park and made a solitary sprint, dribbling past two Black Rhinos defenders before firing a grounder which goalkeeper Herbert Rusawo failed to handle.
Philani “Beefy” Ncube, the How Mine gaffer, was ecstatic after the win and commended his charges for rising to the occasion despite the fact that in the first half, their opponents had an upper hand.
“Technically and tactically they had an upper hand in the first half. They were superior and we allowed them too much space. Timothy went in with a positive mind and we created the goal,” he said.
Black Rhinos coach Arthur Tutani was not available for comment. How Mine captain Gilbert Banda who was awarded the man-of-the- match award which carried a $500 prize, said they knew it was going to be a tough match, but they fought hard to win.
“In the first half we knew that we were going to face tough competition, but we also knew that they were not familiar with the Barbourfields turf which we used to our advantage. We knew that they would tire by the second half and that is when we were going to make our move,” Banda said.
How Mine missed a number of chances in the first half with one of those coming in the eighth minute when Simba Sithole received a pass from Menard Mupera, but his shot could not find the target.
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