CHICKEN INN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (0) 1
HWANGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 0
CHICKEN Inn picked up another set of three points, piling misery on troubled Hwange in an exciting Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match handled by impressive centre referee Jimmy Makanda at Luveve Stadium yesterday.
Returning from suspension after missing the Highlanders match on Sunday, Brighton Makopa put Chicken Inn ahead barely a minute into the match with a shot past Hwange goalkeeper Bhekimpilo Ncube.
It was Chicken Inn's third win on the trot after beating Green Fuel and Highlanders and they are now joint leaders with Bosso at the top with 15 points as the Bulawayo giants played a draw with Herentals in Harare.
Coach Joey Antipas was elated, but rued the missed chances.
"We had to dig deep. We had to grind the results. Hwange are not a bad side, they are a strong side and they kept us at bay. It was good to get that early goal because it gives you confidence going forward and gives you stability. We huffed and puffed and hit the bar a couple of times and created some chances," Antipas said.
Hwange coach Nation Dube said his boys played well despite the defeat as the coalminers continue to wallow at the bottom of the table.
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"Congratulations to the other team. I think we played brilliantly, only that we missed a lot of chances. We went to sleep in the first two minutes and they scored that goal," Dube said.
The Gamecocks displaced Simba Bhora on the second spot as the latter fell to Bikita Minerals in Mutare. The Gamecocks dominated Hwange for the entire first half, but failed to stretch the lead.
They came back from the breather still in top gear and Michael Charamba's shot from a free-kick in the 50th minute punched back into play by Ncube, who had a hectic afternoon.
Four minutes later, Hwange missed a chance to equalise after Prosper Mathe failed to connect with only goalkeeper Donovan Bernard to beat.
The coalminers picked up form and mounted pressure on Chicken Inn, but failed to hit the net.
Chicken Inn's Brian Muza was brought down just outside the penalty area and from the resultant free-kick George Majika's effort hit the cross bar.
As the match advanced the Gamecocks had opportunities to increase the tally, but Muza and Charamba missed the target.
