Highlanders electrocuted
Chiyangwa blames referees for violence
ZPC Kariba ......................................................... (0) 1 Highlanders ............................................................. 0 VETERAN striker Limited Chikafa delivered the killer blow as ZPC Kariba floored clueless Highlanders in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match at Nyamhunga Stadium yesterday.
It was sweet revenge for the electricians who lost the reverse fixture by the same score line at Barbourfields in June. The result saw Sunday Chidzambwa’s men move up to fourth position on 31 points, just a point behind third placed Bosso who themselves remain seven points adrift of log leaders FC Platinum.
FC Platinum have a chance to stretch the lead when they visit Triangle in the Lowveld this afternoon.
It was the sixth consecutive game for Bosso without a win and their Dutch coach Erol Akbay admitted all was not well in their camp.
“We have a problem with our strikers and we are playing very badly these days. The sooner we rectify these shortcomings the better for us but at this stage the championship race is still wide open.”
Bosso have not been the same since the departure of Bruce Kangwa, a left back that Akbay cloned into a midfielder to impressive results. Kangwa, who has since found a new home in Tanzania, scored seven of the 24 goals that Bosso have scored so far this season and his departure coincided with Highlanders’ poor run of form.
ZPC Kariba were by far the better side and their five men midfield was a source of bother for the visitors.
Chikafa could have opened the scoring in the 19th minute but his powerful shot was well dealt with by Bosso’s unheralded goalkeeper Prosper Matutu.
Munyaradzi Kunyarimwe also had a chance but his curling free kick went just wide as the home side took the game to the visitors. Bosso on the other hand looked out of sorts. They were so ordinary one would have been forgiven for thinking they were an aimless midtable team than the championship contenders they want to be taken for.
Prince Dube was lonely upfront and never threatened while the stylish King Nadolo tried all sorts of tricks but his final pass was always disappointing. The hosts continued to pile pressure in the second half and were duly rewarded on 80 minutes when Chikafa found the target with a grounder from inside the box. Chikafa was set up by fellow veteran Tawanda Nyamandwe. Chidzambwa welcomed the three points. “We failed to convert numerous chances again but at the end of the day three points is all we wanted,” he said. “My hope is that the team will build on this momentum and continue to win matches. We had gone for eight matches without a win before we won at Chapungu last week. We have to guard against complacency now that we have won two matches in a row.” Teams ZPC Kariba: T Hove, T Munyanduri, M Kunyarimwe, T Sweswe, B Mutukure (D Chakupe 46th), S Appiah, E Meleka, P Kabwe, D Phiri (T Mahori 46th), L Chikafa, T Nyamandwe (T Mugoniwa 82nd) Highlanders: P Matutu, R Kutsanzira (R Matema 77th), K Nadolo, P Dube, F Chindungwe, T Ndlovu, P Muduhwa, T Ngulube, E Mudzingwa (J Daudi 45th), G Nyoni (B Banda 59th), A Gahadzikwa. ZIFA president and referees committee chairman Philip Chiyangwa has blamed poor officiating for violence that has erupted at football matches in recent months.
Chiyangwa said he will hold a meeting with all referees tomorrow in Harare to stem the rot adding that he will use the “crisis” meeting as the starting point of restoring normalcy in local refereeing.
“I have called a crisis meeting on Monday with all the referees and I want to tell them to get their act together. We would not be having this problem of violence if referees were officiating well at games. There has been poor officiating and it is time it comes to an end,” said Chiyangwa.
Local football had been operating without a referees committee for the better part of the year following the ejection of Edzai Kasinauyo after match fixing accusations and the failed dissolution of Zifa and the aborted formation of Nafaz also compounded the situation.
PSL took over the appointment of referees after the failed dissolution of Zifa, and it is now being done by a Zifa staffer.
Several teams have been raising complaints over poor officiating with Chicken Inn refusing to pay match officials after their match against FC Platinum which they lost 0-1 claiming the referees were biased.
Chicken Inn officials nearly came to blows with centre man Thomas Masaa at the end of that game.
Caps have also reportedly complained that Thabani Bamala officiated in all their matches each time they travelled to Bulawayo.
Matters came to a head last weekend when fans invaded the pitch and had running battles with the police following the clash between Highlanders and Chicken Inn at Barbourfields last Sunday.
The myriad of complaints raised by fans and teams alike had reached a crescendo that Zifa could not ignore and on Thursday appointed the committee headed by Chiyangwa.
Other members of the committee include Gladmore Muzambi, vice-chairperson, Kainos Mavhuna, Japhet Mufiri, Thabani Mkantjo and Musa Ntonga. The absence of a referees committee meant transgressions by match officials went unpunished.