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Grace Chingoma

Senior Sports Reporter

Yadah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  0

Simba Bhora . . . . . . . . . . . . (1) 1

DEBUTANTS Simba Bhora head coach Tonderai Ndiraya yesterday said their first win in the Castle Lager Premiership against Yadah at the National Sports Stadium will relieve pressure and give them confidence to play their normal game going forward.

The win, which literally came against run of play, was a crucial one for the newboys who lost their opening two matches against FC Platinum and Chicken Inn before they managed to collect a point in a goalless draw against Dynamos last weekend.

The Shamva side got off the woods first with a ninth minute strike from midfielder Alexander Mandinyenya, who scored from outside the box.

The goal was enough for Simba Bhora to defend the whole afternoon, as Yadah came back strongly in the second half and threw everything at their opponents but were found lacking in the final third.

Yadah midfielder Junior Zindoga and King Nadolo who came in the second half made some forays which could have at least yielded something for the hosts but it was just not their day. And Lennox Mucheto’s miss just before fulltime capped a frustrating afternoon for Yadah.

The day belonged to Ndiraya, his troops and their hired Pausanza Farm brass band which provided melodious sound as they cheered their team all the way.

“It’s our first win in the league. It’s quite exciting. It has been a very difficult three weeks for us. They were quite difficult but l am happy that this win will take off some bit of pressure and perhaps it will then allow us to play our normal football.

“But really we were under so much pressure. I guess that’s why we didn’t play the way we were supposed to do today. But the result will give us confidence going into our next match against Hwange. Kudos to the boys for the fighting spirit,” said Ndiraya.

However, the gaffer was not amused by the way his charges carried on with their business.

“I am happy with the result, but performance-wise really, l am not too happy. We didn’t play football today. The attitude was not correct, quite frankly.

“Yadah really dominated the entire 90 minutes. I am not happy at all. Of course, l am happy about the result in those bad moments.

“l am truly happy about how we defended our lead, that single goal but honestly l am not really happy about the way we played today.

“Totally different from the way we played last week when we played Dynamos. Maybe it was a matter of psychology when you play a big team, put up a big show and you think you are going to play Yadah which is a small team then you get the results we got today in terms of performance.

“We were playing seasoned campaigners, we played a team which had lots of movement, the mobility was just too hot for us to handle. But l am happy that in the end we kept our shape in terms of defending and we had to see through and protect the lead that we got,” said Ndiraya.

Yadah coach Expense Chitukutuku was not impressed by the defeat.

“These are youngsters; l am still working with them. They are good and they will improve with time. Unfortunately, Simba defended very well,” said Chitukutu.

Teams:

Yadah: P. Nyabunga. B. Kadamanja. M. Gwatidzo. M. Mlilo. T. Musariri. C. Mandivei. J. Zindoga. W. Kamudyariwa. B. Ndereki. V. Sango. M. Moffat (K. Nadolo 46minute).

Simba Bhora: S. Chinani. V. Musarurwa. B. Moyo. W. Tafa. P. Jaure. T. Chipunza. A. Sadiki (R. Chitiyo 56th minute). A. Mandinyenya (K. Murera 82nd minute). V. Kawe. H. Chikosa (S. Chatikobo 56thminute). T. Balakasi (D. Chunga 56th minute).