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Allen Khumalo in BULAWAYO
Bulawayo City . . . . . . .(1) 1
Hwange. . . .. . . . . . . . 0
AN early first-half goal by Bulawayo City’s Kevin Madzongwe made the difference and condemned Hwange to another Castle Lager Premiership defeat at Barbourfields yesterday. Madzongwe scored in the 10th minute to help the hosts overcome the coalminers who last won on Match Day Four with a 2-1 victory over Bantu Rovers.

That win was followed by two defeats at the hands of Chicken Inn (0-1), Platinum Stars (1-0) and a draw against Triangle (0-0).

Hwange then suffered a 3-0 thrashing by Black Rhinos. Despite yet another loss, Hwange coach Nation Dube was putting on a brave face.

“It’s a new-look team and we are still building and trying to find combinations. I think the boys are learning the hard way. The thing is you can lose five games and at the end of the day win the championship.

“It’s only that some of the games we lost we should have won. We are going back to the drawing board and things will eventually work out,” said Dube.

It was the home team which enjoyed a lot of ball possession and they were duly rewarded with a goal in the 10th minute when Madzongwe unleashed a thunderbolt from outside the box which caught Hwange goalkeeper Taimon Mvula sleeping on duty. Despite the win, Bulawayo City coach Mandla Mpofu felt they could have done more.

“I felt we were a bit sloppy but the most important thing was to get the three points. I must give credit to our opponents because they gave us a hard time after the break but we showed character,” said Mpofu.

Teams:

Bulawayo City: A. Ngwenya, M. Kadzola, Z. Sibanda, M. Mungadze, Z. Ngodzo, K. Madzongwe (I. Kutsanzira 71st min), S. Ndlovu (B. Ncube 29th min), R. Pavari, H. Masuku, M. Moyo, M. Dube (D. Sibanda 85th min).

Hwange: T. Mvula, C. Phiri, G. Ndlovu, M. Mekiwa, O. Moyo, A. Banda (J. Kaunda 85th min), W. Munorwei, C. Muleya, M. Ncube (G. Zulu 63th min), M. Mpofu, S. Gadzikwa.