Chicken Inn march on

However, there was no stopping the home side from surging ahead in the 22nd minute when Mucheneka spotted his skipper Jackson lurking on the blind side and delivered a weighted corner kick that Jackson nodded home.

Triangle attempted a quick response, but their frontline was starved of clean balls as Chicken Inn congested the midfield and Thabani Goredema ensured the supply line was choked.

The home team’s tactic to congest the midfield forced Triangle skipper Lameck Nhamo, who showed flashes of individual brilliance, to drop deep in search of the ball, but on the few occasions that he got possession, his move were quickly thwarted in the final third.

At the beginning of the second half, Triangle coach Taurayi Mangwiro introduced Tendai Huwa for Blessing Chimwamuchere and the move saw the Lowveld side probing the home side’s defence.

Triangle should to have drawn level in the 49th minute when Simba Makoni beat an ill conceived offside trap and came face-to-face with drawn out goalkeeper Elvis Chipezeze.

While Makoni’s execution was good, precision deserted him and the lob went wide.

The Game Cocks went 2-0 up 10 minutes into the second half after the overlapping Passmore Bernard was hacked inside the box by Donald Dzvingai and referee Nduna Nkosana pointed to the spot. Mucheneka made no mistake from the set piece.

“They were there to punish us for failure to defend from set pieces. First from a corner kick and at a

time when we thought we were regrouping, we gave away a penalty. I must say for the past four or five games, we have put up good shows, but today was not one of those days,” said Mangwiro.