Gamecocks Lift Uhuru Cup



By Perkins-Tino  Bare
Chicken Inn  (1) 2 
Highlanders  (1) 1
The Gamecocks won their 1st piece of silverware as they came from behind to beat Highlanders 2-1 in a match played out at the National Sports Stadium. The match started off at a great tempo with Bosso dictating the play. Both teams were surely in search of that early goal and it was just left to the defenders to play way up the line and catch the strikers in the offside trap. It worked for both sides as they showed no respect for each other with Bosso enjoying most of the play.
The first goal of the match came in the 20th minute as Bruce Kangwa got the opener for Bosso. In the 23rd minute he was at it again on the left flank this time around combining with Knox Mutizwa before he squared the ball beautifully in the box though it had no takers.
The Gamecocks kept looking for that equaliser and it did not take them long either to level matters. Passmore Bernanrd charged on the right flank before he released a scorcher which prompted Ariel Sibanda to tap it out for a corner kick. Obadiah Tarumbwa was left all alone to tap in the corner when Ariel Sibanda failed to cut it levelling matters in the 25th minute which brought the Gamecocks back in the match.
Former Highlanders` star Teenage Hadebe did not really make an impact in the match and there was a bit of a scare when he got injured in a tussle with Bruce Kangwa, who really was the standout player for Highlanders in the first half. Douglas Sibanda missed a golden opportunity as Bosso`s strikers were struggling especially with keeping the ball down with the headers. Knox missed a couple of chances as well and it is particularly an area to go back and look at for they were able to position themselves beautifully but the execution was just pathetic as they kept making the same mistake of failing to keep the ball down.
The gamecocks were soon back in the fold as Lawrence Mhlanga cooked Bosso`s left back restoring some lost pride as it had gone quiet in the capacity filled stands with the Dynamos fans routing for the Gamecocks. Michelle Katsvairo was the first to break Bosso`s offside trap and when he broke just before the 1st half came to a close but he chose to hold on to the ball instead of squaring it to Obadiah Tarumbwa who was in a glorious position to just tap it in.
Ariel Sibanda did not really have a good 1st half as he was left exposed missing the ariel balls as it were. The first was the corner which ended in the equaliser by the gamecocks and the second corner was just as sloppy from Bosso`s shot-stopper. The gamecocks had a 3rd corner in later in the half which he eventually got a touch to punching it away meaning that out of the three corners that he faced in the half he only got a touch to one which he punched away. This just left him exposed as his defenders were not doing enough to cover up for his flaws and now that its been established it will be interesting to see as the season progresses how teams try to exploit this one.
The 2nd half started off with Osborne Chirambadare coming in for Muchadeyi in whilst Douglas Sibanda made his way off for Bosso. In the second half those overlaps from Bruce Kangwa were now few as he stepped up to help out Ariel Sibanda defending the ball being the last man after a ball Ariel had slipped was threatening  to become nasty.
Katsvairo was the first to start having a go at Ariel with the long balls as he released scorchers one after another. Ariel however kept a close eye on them and he was lucky enough to tap them out.
The 2nd half belonged to the Gamecocks and soon Katsvairo was at it again as he caught Simon Munawa offguard way up in the field beating Bosso`s offside trap to score the second for the Gamecocks. This just changed the complexion of the game itself as form this point on the gamecocks started playing with a whole lot more in terms of confidence. Michelle Katsvairo was combining beautifully with Osborne Chirambadare on the right and even switched flanks to the same effect. This attack was so deadly especially with the presence of Obadiah Tarumbwa in the centre for the Gamecocks. Katsvairo was having an absolute party on the left flank and Bosso needs to review that right back position.
Otherwise it was a wonderful showing from the Bosso skipper Felix Chindungwe who led form the back and led well from the front. The gamecocks go back to Bulawayo capping off what has been a successful financial year for them with their first ever Uhuru cup.
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