THE Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match between Chicken Inn and FC Platinum at Luveve Stadium was delayed by 33 minutes after officials supposed to handle the match were not told of their duties on time and had to be called from Barbourfields Stadium where they had gone to watch the Bantu Rovers-Dynamos match.
Thandiwe Moyo Sports Correspondent
Chicken Inn…………….. (0) 2 FC Platinum ……………..(1) 2
Referee Allen Basvi, his assistants Brilliant Sibanda and Faith Mloyi as well as fourth official Thembinkosi Sibanda started the match at 3:33pm.
Referees Appointments secretary Patrick Marumbi said: “There was a mix up in notifying the referees. It was a human error on my part. The referees were not aware that they were going to handle the game.”
For the second time in two games, FC platinum failed to hang on to their two-goal lead. Chicken Inn equalised and salvaged a point from the match.
Platinum scored through Walter Musona in the 19th minute with Donald Ngoma getting the second in the 66th minute.
Musona received a cross from Michelle Katsvairo and with the Chicken Inn defence falling apart, he released a shot that beat goalkeeper Liberty Chirava.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Ngoma added the second after Bhekimpilo Ncube who looked lost in the midfield, gave up possession and he raced towards goal with only Charles Mutero as his marker, beating him and Chirava.
The visitors looked set to garner three points, but persistence paid off for Chicken Inn when an 86th minute header from Tendai Mukambi, who had come in for Mkhokheli Dube in the 63rd minute, put them back in the game.
He found the back of the net again within the five minutes of extra time when George Majika flighted an inviting cross into the box, with Mukambi rising high with a powerful header for the equaliser.
“I cannot be happy when we take a two-goal lead and concede such silly goals. The element of concentration played a role. When people are knocking the ball and we do not concentrate, we concede silly goals. We had total control. I do not know where we lost it. It is still early days but every coach wants to play for a win,” said a visibly upset FC Platinum coach Lloyd Mutasa said.
It was a huge relief for Chicken Inn coach Joey Antipas who conceded that he could afford a smile.
“We snatched a point from the jaws of defeat. If we had played a couple more minutes we could have won. George Majika, that boy, I reckon he is a star for the future. When he came in he changed the complexion of the game,” he said.
Teams Chicken Inn: L Chirava, M Jackson, B Mbiriri, B Nyahunzvi, C Mutero, D Phiri, T Goredema, T Banda (I Lawe 46th minute), B Ncube (G Majika 71st minute), C Matawu, M Dube (T Mukambi 63rd minute)
FC Platinum: P Mhari, Q Amini, T Kamusoko, R Muduviwa, W Mutasa, J Marufu, S Sibanda (K Moyo 78th minute), G Bello, M Katsvairo (S Shoko 74th minute), W Musona (O Chirwa 84th minute), D Ngoma
