Ricky Zililo Senior Sports Reporter
Bantu Rovers 2-0 Amagagasi
BANTU Rovers captain and national Under-20 striker Bukhosi Sibanda scored a spectacular goal direct from a corner kick as he inspired a win over Amagagasi to go to the top of the Southern Region Division One League. Rovers had gone into yesterday’s match at Luveve Stadium in third place, but toppled the Victoria Falls-based side after a hard-fought victory.The ambitious Bulawayo side, who have played 13 games, are now on 31 points, one ahead of Amagagasi, whose 30 points are from 14 outings.
The former Premiership side scored both goals in the second half. They found the opener through Fortune Nkomazana, who connected a Jeleni Nsingo cross from the left in the 55th minute.
Eleven minutes later, Sibanda put the game beyond the reach of the visitors, who had fluffed numerous scoring opportunities, when he scored directly from a corner. An elated Rovers coach Johannes Ngodzo praised his charges for a disciplined performance, saying they had to dig deep to crack Amagagasi.
“This was one hell of a game because Amagagasi really gave us a scare, especially in the first half. We worked really hard for this victory and the boys gave their best. They had their fare share of chances and we also created many scoring opportunities that we failed to turn in, which is a positive for us because now we just have to go back and work on our finishing,” said Ngodzo.
Rovers could have won by a huge margin had strikers Lenience Mpofu, Nkomazana and Obrey Chirinda been more precise in front of goal.
The visitors looked dangerous on counters, with attacking midfielder Arthur Musiiwa giving Rovers’ midfielders and central defenders some anxious moments with his dribbling wizardry.
With a bit of luck, Musiiwa could have given Amagagasi a first half lead when he reacted quickly to a rebound off a Bright Dzowa free-kick, but with Rovers keeper Stephen Chimusoro to beat, he shot over the bar.
Amagagasi striker Lungile Nyathi held his head in disbelief when Chimusoro went airborne to tip his dipping shot out for a corner in the 60th minute.
Zibonele Ncube, the Amagagasi coach, said: “We were punished for failing to take our chances and conceded two soft goals. It’s back to the drawing board to plan for the next game and I believe the second leg will be explosive.”
Results
Today: Bulawayo Chiefs 1-0 Hwange Juniors, Talen Vision 1-1 Indlovu Iyanyathela, ZRP Bulawayo Province 0-1 Makomo
Yesterday: Bantu Rovers 2-0 Amagagasi, Bosso 90 2-0 Victoria Falls Tigers
Fixtures
Wednesday, July 20: Casmyn v Bulawayo Chiefs (Turk Mine), Technosphere v Bosso 90 (Hwange)
Thursday, July 21: ZRP Hwange v Makomo (Hwange)
Table
P W D L F A GD Pts
Bantu Rovers 13 10 1 2 21 3 18 31
Amagagasi 14 9 3 2 21 7 14 30
ZPC Hwange 14 8 5 1 14 5 9 29
Bulawayo Chiefs 12 8 3 1 19 6 13 27
Black Boots 14 6 3 5 18 12 6 21
ZRP Bulawayo 14 5 3 6 12 12 0 18
Vic Falls Tigers 12 5 2 5 13 13 0 17
Bosso90 14 4 4 6 15 18 -3 16
Technosphere 12 4 4 4 6 9 -3 16
Talen Vision 15 4 4 7 13 19 -6 16
Ntabazinduna 13 3 5 5 6 17 -11 14
Indlovu 15 4 2 9 8 20 -12 14
Hwange Juniors 13 3 3 6 5 11 -6 13
Makomo 14 3 3 8 7 13 -6 12
Casmyn 12 2 5 5 10 12 -2 11
ZRP Hwange 12 2 3 7 10 19 -9 9