The Sunday Mail (Zimbabwe)

Poor Tsholotsho stuck in a rut

- Thupeyo Muleya in Beitbridge

Tsholotsho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1) 2 Triangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(0) 1 TSHOLOTSHO must be allergic to winning.

The Castle Lager Premier Soccer League’s basement side yesterday blew a two-goal lead and drew with a Triangle side that barely deserved a point at Dulivhadzi­mo.

Tsholotsho have now gone 16 matches without a win, drawing six and losing ten.

They have scored just eight and conceded 22 times this season, and coach Darlington Dodo looked lost after watching his team snatch a draw from the jaws of victory.

“The draw is devastatin­g. We lost concentrat­ion in the last 30 minutes of the game,” said the Tsholotsho gaffer.

“We had a good start and got into what seemed a commanding 2-0 lead and from there everyone would have expected us to see the game through.

“However, we made mistakes at crucial stages of the game and we will be working in addressing them before our next game away to Black Rhinos.”

It was Dodo’s team which started brightly with Trust Nyabinde heading them into the lead before Ayanda Ncube doubled their lead on 72 minutes.

Tsholotsho then sought to close shop but Triangle substitute Richard Kawondera had other ideas.

Kawondera, who came in on 70 minutes, halved the deficit on 78 minutes before restoring parity nine minutes later.

The result left Tsholotsho firmly stuck to the basement with six points from 16 matches while Triangle have 19 points from 16 matches as well.

The visitors coach Taurai Mangwiro hailed his team for never giving up.

“It was a difficult game but credit to the boys for fighting until the final whistle. We struggled to defend set pieces and lost concentrat­ion when they opened the scoring but at the end of the day we welcome the point.

“Ralph used his time on the bench to read the game well, came in and scored a brace which earned us a point,” he said.

P Ngezi Platinum 16 Dynamos 14 Black Rhinos 15 Chicken Inn 15 FC Platinum 15 Highlander­s 15 How Mine 14 ZPC Kariba 16 Chapungu 15 Triangle 16 Harare City 15 Bulawayo City 15 Yadah FC 15 Shabanie Mine 15 Caps United 9 Hwange 14 Bantu Rovers 16 Tsholotsho FC 16 W 9 9 8 9 6 7 7 7 5 4 4 5 4 3 3 3 2 0 D 4 2 4 1 8 4 4 3 6 7 5 2 4 6 4 4 2 6 L F 3 25 3 22 3 18 5 15 1 13 4 16 3 11 6 18 4 10 5 14 6 8 8 17 7 13 6 10 2 14 7 9 12 18 10 8 A 14 12 7 7 7 13 9 16 10 17 8 19 20 14 9 18 37 22 GD 11 10 11 8 6 3 2 2 0 -3 0 -2 -7 -4 5 -9 -19 -14 PTS 31 29 28 28 26 25 25 24 21 19 17 17 16 15 13 13 8 6

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