The Sunday News
FC Platinum ………………………………………………. (1) 2
How Mine ………………………………………………….. (1) 1
FC Platinum continued with life after Lloyd Mutasa when they beat visiting How Mine in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match played at Mandava Stadium yesterday.
The victory was also a perfect birthday present for caretaker coach Patrick Mandizha who turned 38 yesterday. Mandizha has never lost a match for Platinum since 2011. His counterpart Philani “Beefy” Ncube was not impressed with the standards of refereeing shown by Kwekwe based Thabani Bhamala who somehow did not give a good show. He also blasted retired referee Joseph Mususa whom he accused of manipulating results especially for FC Platinum.
“The referee was the twelfth man. Having Mususa in the organisation means a lot. I think it is not necessary for the fifteen teams in the league to train and if teams want to win they have to have a person like Mususa in their organisation.
“We train every week and players are working hard to achieve results only to be let down by the referees. The last five minutes the referee made sure Platinum would win and also the match commissioners have a history of biased refereeing,” said Ncube.
FC Platinum were the first to settle in the third minute through Donald Ngoma when he placed the ball past goalkeeper Bernard Donovan.
Three minutes after the goal James Chitereki who had a nice show equalised for the visitors. A free kick from the right by Godfrey Nguwodzawo on the right was met with a first time shot that whisked past Francis Tizayi.
The former Harare City man Nguwodzawo shook his head in agony when he broke loose on the right and released a stinger that removed some paint on the crossbar but the rebound found no takers.
A minute before the break, Nguwodzawo again dribbled past three FC Platinum defenders and released a shot that was blocked for a corner by Tizayi.
Substitute Obrey Chirwa then made sure that Norman Mapeza would find the team in a better position next week when he poked home a corner kick from Thabani Kamusoko from the left.
It was also the first match at home for captain Daniel Veremu and Ian Nekati.
“I made a few changes from the Mutasa team. I trained for one day and I did not have enough time with them. I also brought Veremu who boosted the team with his experience,” said Mandizha.
Meanwhile, FC Platinum is expected to unveil Mapeza on Tuesday after the coach agreed terms with the club in Gweru last Wednesday.
Sources say he signed a three-year contract and as part of signing on fees per year he would get $10 000. He was also offered a lucrative package that will beat any coach in Zimbabwe believed to be around $6 000 per month.
FC Platinum officials, however, have refuted the claims saying they are looking for Mutasa’s replacement.
Teams:
FC Platinum: F Tizayi ,Q Amin, I Nekati, J Marufu,T Kamusoko, D Veremu, A Katebe, R Sibanda (O Chirwa 91 mins), A Mukwena(M Katsvairo 83 mins), D Ngoma, B Marere.
How Mine: B Donovan, M Kadzola, J Chitereki, N Mukumbi,G Magariro(T Masuku 63 mins), G Banda, X Moyo, E Muzanenhamo, F Chirinda,G Nguwodzawo, C Masocha (K Musharu 64 mins ).
