SCOTTLAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
NGEZI PLATINUM STARS . . . (0)
CASTLE Lager Premier Soccer League log leaders Scottland discovered that winning the title is not going to be a walk in the park after they were handed their first defeat of the season by former champions Ngezi Platinum Stars.
Scottland coach Tonderai Ndiraya admitted that they face a tough journey this season, where they will be targeted as the team to beat.
“Every match is going to be difficult for us,” he said.
“It’s our first season in the league, but it has come with a lot of pressure from the fans.
“And we have to be strong mentally so that we get to a level where we can resist some of the pressures that are being thrown at us.
“So, yeah, the good thing is people are coming. People are coming to watch the games.”
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Ngezi coach Takesure Chiragwi said his team did their homework on Scottland and he was happy his tactics worked.
Captain Kudzai Chigwida converted a second half penalty to give his team the narrow win.
Ngezi won a penalty after Frederick Ansah Botchway fouled Tinashe Mavhudzi in an off-the-ball incident.
Ndiraya described the incident as careless.
“Of course, (about) that unfortunate incident. Not too sure what happened, but in the end, we had to concede the way that we conceded. And I think it’s also to do with concentration,” he said.
“I don’t know what really happened. We would have to see the video, but it was careless to concede a penalty in such a manner in such times of the game.
“So, yeah, in the end we had to lose the way we lost. And that’s part of the game.”
The reigning Coach of the Year lamented a slow start in the first half as well as failure to create meaningful chances in the second half.
“I think it was a very competitive match from both teams,” Ndiraya said.
“But I thought from our end, we didn’t start too well, especially in the first 15-20 minutes. We were a bit passive.
“We didn’t show the energy that we showed last week. I think it’s all to do with the mind. Psychologically, I think we were very relaxed.”
Added the Scottland mentor: “And then I think we started to get back to ourselves after about 25 minutes.
“And when we started to push forward, I think that’s when we then created or got those chances, which I thought probably in the first half we should have put away.
“Yeah, and then we came back a bit changed, but I did not see much change. Yes, we had improved, but not to the level that we really were supposed to.
“And then we did not create any meaningful chances in the second half. We started to see some tired legs.
“We had to make some changes. But still, we did not really create the chances that we were supposed to create or the way we created chances last week.”
Ngezi looked well drilled and they were more lively as they created the first few chances.
Richard Hachiro was pulling strings in the midfield, with the Scottland midfielders struggling to get past him, particularly in the first half.
Obriel Chirinda was also a menace to the Scottland defenders, but on the other hand, Khama Billiat was a handful for the Ngezi defenders, having released Tymon Machope twice only for the striker to get robbed of possession just before pulling the trigger.
Ngezi demanded a penalty in the first half after Marvin Gaki hit the ground, but referee Brighton Chimene ignored the call-out.
“I think we did our homework very well. We just came in trying to defuse their strength. We watched them play and we found solutions to defuse their strength,” Chiragwi said.
“We made sure we capitalised on our strength. We did that because our strength is more to keep possession, so that you can find some vulnerable spaces behind the defence.
“We tried to do that in the first half. We got three or four chances and we could manage to get it behind the back of the net.”
He added: “But going on with the game, I think we developed a good culture, especially in the second half.
“We came back very strong and we kept on pushing forward. We realised that these guys are now getting tired of their defence.
“They were getting very slow. We tried to introduce the youngsters, Tinashe Mavhudzi and (Tinotenda) Ditima. They went in with a lot of energy and speed, hence we got the penalty through that.”
