Rhinos dent Gamecocks title hopes

Black Rhinos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1) 2 Chicken Inn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (0) 1

TRUE to their declaration, Black Rhinos have turned Vengere into their fortress.

Yesterday it was the turn of title-chasing Chicken Inn to feel the pain of the gore of a Rhino horn, as the soldiers dealt Joey Antipas’ men a huge blow in their quest to close in on FC Platinum at the top.

An Eli Ilunga conversion from the penalty spot, on the half-hour mark, and an own goal by Tafadzwa Kutinyu in the second half saw the army side extending their unbeaten run to six games at their new-found Rusape home. Chicken Inn got their consolation through a brilliant individual effort by Passmore Bernard. Gamecocks coach Antipas defended his charges and instead blamed the state of the Vengere turf for their loss.

“Well done to Black Rhinos for collecting maximum points, which was to our detriment. To be honest, this pitch is not suitable for Premiership status.

“Football should be enjoyed by players and fans but in this pitch you cannot play any good football.

“If you look at the goals we conceded it was because of the nature of the pitch.

“I am not looking for excuses but it’s a fact,’’ said Antipas. The Gamecocks gaffer admitted that the defeat had dented his side’s title aspirations. “It’s very difficult now that we are keeping on dropping points but we will fight on,” said Antipas.

Rhinos have rediscovered their mojo under Stanford “Stix’’ Mtizwa and the club legend was happy to bag full points.

“I am happy with the performance of the boys and beating Chicken Inn is a massive win for us and gives confidence going forward,” said Mtizwa.

Rhinos enjoyed an upper hand from the first whistle, and came close to getting an opener as early as the sixth minute when Farai Banda saw his effort missing the target by few inches.

With Chicken Inn being forced to defend deep, Rhinos came close to getting the breakthrough in the 22nd minute when Banda came to the end of a Dennis Dauda cross but the soldiers’ skipper hurried his effort, dragging it wide.

As they continued to pile pressure on the visitors, Rhinos were awarded a penalty after 30 minutes for a foul on midfielder Christopher Brighton and Ilunga took the responsibility, sending Donovan Bernard in goals for the Gamecocks the wrong way.

After taking the lead, the army side dropped back as they sought to protect their lead and held on to that slender advantage, as the teams trooped off for the break.

Chicken Inn came back from the breather a much improved side and started making inroads into the Rhinos defence.

They came close to getting an equaliser two minutes into the second period when winger Malvin Gaki saw his goal-bound header being tipped for a corner-kick by goalkeeper Stanley Chakwana.

The hosts increased their lead in the 52nd minute when Chicken Inn’s Kutinyu turned Brighton’s cross into his own net in an attempt to clear his lines.

Then it was Passmore Bernard’s moment. He revived the visitors’ hopes when he pulled one back after some fine individual work, which saw him beating three Rhinos defenders before unleashing a powerful shot that nestled into the far corner.

Results at a glance:

Black Rhinos 2–1 Chicken Inn Ngezi Platinum 0–0 FC Platinum Harare City 0–0 Bulawayo Chiefs Bulawayo City 2–0 Yadah WhaWha 0–0 Triangle United