Castle Lager Matchday 5 Roundup









Castle Lager Matchday 5 Roundup
By Perkins-Tino Bare

Triangle maintained their position at the top of the standings as the absence of Ronald Chitiyo weighed heavily on Dynamos as they scrambled a 1-0 victory over a struggling Flame Lil. The new boys occupy the relegation zone after matchday 5. The teams which were tipped to be part of the league contenders Caps United and FC Platinum both got a coppng this past weekend leaving them at  mid-table with a lot of work to do whilst pressure has already started to mount early on the gaffers especially Bongani Mafu who may not make it till the end of the season if he doesn`t get his team going. 

No More Maffles
The police had to intervene once again at Barbourfields as pressure continued to mount on the Highlanders gaffer Bongani Mafu after he succumbed to his second defeat after they lost the first game of the season 2-0 to ZPC Kariba and have two wins and a draw. Bosso went down to a bottom of the log Chapungu who had gone into the match without a league gola but 90 minutes later had their first set of three points. Fans from the infamous Soweto End were chanting slogans against the Highlanders coach with the chants going well on after the match.


Former Shabanie Mine striker Allen Tavariswa got the solitary goal that decided the match as early on as the eighth minute and Highlanders never found their way back into the match as Chapungu rose from the bottom to position 11 from their first win of the season after losing twice and playing one draw. Highlander`s coach Mafu who had called for patience earlier on in the week said in an interview  “We did not come to the party. We did not play any football. We lacked creativity, imagination and the desire. The strikers are out (injured) and it’s not going to work for us. Losing at home can never be a happy thing. We are going back to the drawing board and I understand the despondency of the crowd, but I know of teams that have lost their first five matches and went on the win the league,”.


Lowveld a Bit Too Sweet
Kelvin Kaindu strengthened his position as the coach of the month after Triangle blew away Caps United 4-0 in a match played at Gibbo stadium. Caps United who are still yet to get their house in order as players are disgruntled over the non-payment of salaries went down to a hugely spirited Triangle who are in a transition being led by arguably the best coach on the local scene in Kelvin Kaindu who left Highlanders last season under murky circumstances.

Caps United coach reiterated that his team got what they deserved as they failed to stick to th game plan and therefore ended up conceding soft goals in the process as their plan was a bit disillusioned. He also added that there is still a lot of work to do as morale is low in the camp but his match was a victory for Kaindu and not a loss for Caps as he showed his coaching prowess. Early on in the season noone gave Triangle a chance and though it still a bit too early to label them as title contenders this match was vital in that it showed that his charges can indeed face the Big Guns of the league quite comfortably and he has certainly drawn all attention to his team as the team to watch out for this season.

Gamecocks` Platinum Comeback

At Mandava stadium it as a different case as Chicken Inn came back from a goal down to beat FC Platinum 3-1 in the end adding misery to Norman Mapeza life. Clemant Matawu, Devine Malunga and George Majika capped off a remarkable comeback in the last 25 minutes of the match to cancel out Donald Ngoma`s 62nd minute lead for FC Platinum. The win capped off a good run by the gamecocks as they are currently on 4 wins from 5 matches keeping up with the log leaders Triangle and Dynamos who are both on 13 points being separated on goal difference.

Joey Antipas could all but praise his charges for showing a fighting s pirit as the gaffer went on to accredit the win to the players themselves C hicken Inn are currently 3rd on the league table and with none of the ither top eight sides in How Mine, ZPC Kariba, Caps , Highlanders and Harare City they are well in keeping up with the pace being set by the log leaders.

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