ZPC KARIBA . . . . . . . . . . .(1)3 HOW MINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
A TINY portal to a happy past opened briefly for Sunday Chidzambwa at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.
BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA
ZPC Kariba has been struggling for fluency since Chidzambwa, the most successful coach in Zimbabwe, took over as head coach from Saul Chaminuka.
They are just one rung above the relegation zone with 24 points from 27 matches in the league, but the Kariba outfit registered their biggest win of the season after cruising to a comfortable victory over How Mine in the quarter-finals of the Chibuku Super Cup to set up a semi-final clash against Harare City.
They will need these kind of performances in the league.
But back to the cup, Raphael Manuvire was the destroyer in scoring a brace after Protasho Kabwe had broken the deadlock with the first goal that deflated the gold miners, who were under the guidance of Jerry Makota after Luke Masomere walked away last week.
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Kabwe put his side ahead on 26th minute after he was set up by Manuvire.
Manuvire, then beat a drawn-out goalkeeper Notice Dube after 41 minutes following a pass by Kabwe to fire home the second goal.
Limited Chikafa had earlier missed a good opportunity with his clever chip over the How Mine goalkeeper crushing against the upright. ZPC Kariba was dominant throughout and carved out good chances and could have scored more goals had they been clinical in front of goal. However, Manuvire completed his brace on 54 minutes with a stunning free kick outside the penalty area. But he was guilty of glaring miss seven minutes from full time.
How Mine also had some chances with Mernard Mupera and Godfrey Nguwodzawo coming close towards the end. Chidzambwa was naturally pleased with the way his charges applied themselves.
“I am very pleased with the performance. We have been working hard all along and it’s now beginning to pay off. It’s team work, I think, at ZPC Kariba, we don’t depend on one individual player, we play as a team. You can see at the back we are not conceding goals and we are scoring chances, although we are missing a few. If you believe in a certain system it entirely depends with the kind of players you have.
Added Chidzambwa: “The kind of players we have fit in very well in the 3-5-2 because we haven’t got very talented wide midfielders who can take on defenders and put on those crosses, but our fullbacks can so that is why we are sticking to this formation. But we differ at home we don’t play this formation, we play with wingers, we play 4-4-2 it is like an attacking formation but when you are away you play defensively have to be cautions and produce results.”
He also spoke about his team’s performance in the league.
“We are still glued at the bottom six ,we badly need those points to climb the ladder.
“If we are to get to the final we have to beat whoever we are drawn against in the semifinal so it doesn’t matter who we are drawn against. We are waiting for the draw and we will take it up from there.”
Makota said his charges played well, but conceded soft goals.
“I thought we played well overally, but we conceded soft goals. Our aim is to avoid relegation and I am sure we will get it right. In this match, we wanted to correct a few things. We have got a good pool of players and if we can finish in the top eight it will be a bonus,” said Makota.
