Bantu rovers coach Johannes Ngodzo
Ricky Zililo Senior Sports Reporter
FORMER Premiership side Bantu Rovers stretched their Southern Region Division One Soccer League unbeaten run to seven games and opened a nine-point lead following a 3-0 away win against ZRP Hwange. Nokel Security Zifa Southern Region Division One League May and July Top Goal Scorer Fortune Nkomazana opened the floodgates for Rovers and took his season’s tally to 10.
The other goals came from Joshua Wilson and Sean Harrison. Rovers went into the weekend enjoying a six point lead over second placed Bulawayo Chiefs and the latter suffered a shock 0-2 loss to mid-table side Talen Vision while Rovers cruised to victory on Saturday.
Talen Vision scored through Michael Bhebhe and Melusi Dube. Chiefs were their worst enemies and had themselves to blame for the loss as their seasoned players Joseph Mutambiranwa and Moses Majika missed penalties. With Rovers seemingly running away with the title, it will be a mammoth assignment for either Chiefs or Amagagasi to catch the ex-PSL side.
Rovers coach Johannes Ngodzo said the championship race is wide open and they have to work hard if they are to take the Southern Region Division One Soccer League title. “It’s still a long way to go and any of the top four teams can win the title.
“We’re just taking each game as it comes and the guys need to continue working hard if we’re to keep improving as a team,” said Ngodzo. Third place Amagagasi and ZPC Hwange, who are on position four, were not active in the league matches as they battled it out in the semi-finals of the Raj Modi sponsored John Landa Nkomo Top 8 Tournament. ZPC Hwange won the match 3-2 to set a final date against Chiefs who beat ZRP Bulawayo by an identical scoreline on Sunday.
Results
League: ZRP Hwange 0-3 Bantu Rovers, Black Boots 0-1 Makomo, Technosphere 1-0 Victoria Falls Tigers, Indlovu Iyanyathela 1-0 Hwange Juniors, Bulawayo Chiefs 0-2 Talen Vision, Bosso 90 3-0 Ntabazinduna
John Landa Nkomo Top 8: Amagagasi 2-3 ZPC Hwange, ZRP Bulawayo 2-3 Bulawayo Chiefs
Table
P W D L F A GD Pts
Bantu Rovers 18 14 2 2 33 5 28 44
Bulawayo Chiefs 18 10 5 3 25 11 14 35
Amagagasi 16 10 4 2 22 7 15 34
ZPC Hwange 17 8 8 1 17 8 9 32
Victoria Falls Tigers 18 8 3 7 17 16 1 27
Technosphere 18 7 6 5 11 14 -3 27
Black Boots 17 6 5 6 21 17 5 23
Talen Vision 18 6 5 7 16 19 -3 23
ZRP Bulawayo 16 5 5 6 14 14 0 20
Bosso90 18 5 5 8 19 21 -2 20
Casmyn 17 4 6 7 15 16 -1 18
Makomo 18 4 6 8 9 14 -5 18
Ntabazinduna 18 4 6 8 10 23 -13 18
Indlovu Iyanyathela 18 5 2 11 10 23 -13 17
Hwange Juniors 18 3 6 8 7 15 -8 16
ZRP Hwange 17 2 3 12 10 34 -24 9
— @ZililoR.