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Ricky Zililo in Bulawayo
Chicken Inn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
ZPC Kariba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1) 1
FORMER Castle Lager Premiership champions Chicken Inn put up a lacklustre performance to give up their eight-match unbeaten league run when they fell to visiting ZPC Kariba at Luveve yesterday. Veteran striker Tawanda Nyamandwe scored the only goal in the 31st minute, dinking the ball over diving Chicken Inn goalkeeper Pride Zendera.

Nyamandwe perfectly timed his run to beat the offside trap after being cleverly set up by Moses Demera.
The defeat left Chicken Inn 11 points behind log leaders FC Platinum, who are on 55 points. ZPC Kariba moved a place up the table into 10th with 30 points.

After his charges made only two attempts at goal in the 17th minute when Obriel Chirinda failed to beat ZPC Kariba goalkeeper Takabva Mawaya from close range and Last Sithole’s 86th minute shot was pushed out for a corner, Chicken Inn coach Joey Antipas conceded defeat.

“It’s a sad development, but it’s part of the game. It was disappointing because we didn’t play our normal game due to injuries to key players like Clemence Matawu and George Majika, so we had to shuffle things around.

“I thought the tempo of our game wasn’t neat, the intensity wasn’t there I thought the passing was a bit slow, the transitions were slow. Also attitudes, you know when you’re on a good run, sometimes attitudes creep in, bad mentality so we were just not in it.

“Credit to ZPC Kariba, who were hungrier than us. In football if you haven’t got that hunger and desire, you struggle like we did today. We need to shake up; defensively we were not right and even the attack wasn’t good,” said Antipas.

Majika missed the encounter with a groin injury, while Matawu has a shin problem. Chicken Inn also missed skipper Moses Jackson through suspension after accumulating three yellow cards.

ZPC Kariba could have won the encounter by at least three goals, but Nyamandwe twice failed to beat Zendera in the second half.

The power generators were tactically disciplined, choosing to sit back and soak the little pressure that Chicken Inn piled.
The visitors never allowed Chicken Inn to get into their penalty box, restricting the Gamecocks to playing in the middle of the park.

ZPC Kariba coach Godfrey Tamirepi was elated with his third win in Bulawayo this season, having beaten Highlanders 2-1 in May and Bulawayo Chiefs 2-0 in June.

“Bulawayo has been a good hunting place for us. We had a good start in this game, though it was a bit difficult. We got it right by taking the chance that came our way. If we had allowed Chicken Inn to come into the game, it was going to be difficult for us,” said Tamirepi.

Teams:
Chicken Inn: Pride Zendera, Passmore Bernard, Ben Nyahunzwi, Last Sithole, Kudzai Chideu (Obidiah Tarumbwa, 69th minute), Simon Munawa, Nicole Mutatiwa (Wellington Kamudyariwa, 46th minute), King Nasama (Darryl Nyandoro, 46th minute), Innocent Mucheneka, Obriel Chirinda, Nicholas Mucheneka
ZPC Kariba: Takabva Mawaya, Tsepo Ranthokoane, Munyaradzi Kunyarimwe, Ian Nekati, Sylvester Appiah, Collen Muleya, Talent Chamboko, Moses Demera (Peter Ghani, 83rd minute), Bornface Zuberi, Tawanda Nyamandwe (Francisco Zekumbawire, 87th minute), David Temwanjira (Tawanda Munyanduri, 50th minute)