Bulawayo Chiefs lead the pack after Amagagasi win
BULAWAYO Chiefs went to the top of the Southern Region Division One Soccer League for the first time this season following a 1-0 win over championship contenders Amagagasi at Hartsfield Ground on Saturday.
A first half header by central defender Polite Moyo off a Rainsome Pavari cross earned Chiefs maximum points and with them the top spot on the table. Amagagasi slipped into third, while Bantu Rovers moved into second place after a 2-0 win over Black Boots.
Chiefs now sit on 60 points from 28 matches and enjoy a two-point lead over Rovers going into the last two games of the season.
Chiefs will face Bosso 90 in their next game before wrapping up their season with an away trip to Ntabazinduna.
Thulani Sibanda, the Chiefs’ coach who rejoined the club in August after a four-month spell as Rahman Gumbo’s assistant at Chicken Inn, said the championship race was now theirs to lose.
Sibanda, who won two Southern Region Division One League titles with Quelaton in 2011 and Bulawayo Chiefs in 2014, found Chiefs third on the league table, eight points behind then leaders Rovers.
A holder of a Scottish C coaching licence, Sibanda quit Chicken Inn saying failure to attain the club’s target had forced him to throw in the towel. He had the same target as Gumbo, to collect 20 points from 10 games, but they managed 15 points.
He doesn’t regret retracing his footsteps to Chiefs and is focused on winning his third First Division championship.
“It’s good to be at the top of the table especially at this time of the season when you know that you just have to control your destiny. It’s now ours to lose because now we just have to win our games and stop relying on others to do the job for us.
“The guys are happy and with such a mood in camp you just want the guys to take each game as it comes and make sure we don’t drop any points,” said Sibanda.
“The last two games are tricky and we have to be cautious and avoid dropping points because Bantu Rovers and Amagagasi are not far. It is certainly going to be an exciting finish for us,” he said.
Rovers, who are tied on 58 points with Amagagasi but have a superior goal difference, face ZPC Hwange in their next game before ending their season with an away trip to Victoria Falls to face Amagagasi.
Rovers and Amagagasi will be hoping Chiefs drop points in their next encounter and they win so that the title is decided on the last day of the season.
Amagagasi return to Bulawayo for their next game against resurgent Indlovu Iyanyathela, who held perennial campaigners ZPC Hwange to a 0-0 draw in Hwange at the weekend. — @ZililoR.