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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