Chicken Inn …………………………………….(3)3
Highlanders………………………………………….0
IT took about 30 minutes for Madinda Ndlovu to arrive for his post match press conference.
When he walked in he looked like a dead man walking and when he opened his mouth to speak, he sounded like a man on the verge of resigning after Highlanders were soundly handed a three piecer by Chicken Inn in a match played at Barbourfields Stadium yesterday.
Bosso were so poor that Ndlovu expressed doubts that he was the man to turn around the fortunes of the once mighty football giants who have gone for seven games without a win and a goal at their favourite hunting ground.
So good were Chicken Inn that the second goal, which caused a 20 minute-stoppage following crowd trouble, did not flatter a disjointed Highlanders who lost, thanks to the boots of two-goal hero Bret Amidu and the country’s leading Top Goal Scorer Clive Augusto.
All the three goals were scored in the first half. Amidu drew first blood in the 26th minute after his well taken free kick from outside the box went past Bosso’s one man wall and proceeded to beat a diving Ariel Sibanda on his right.
In the 37th minute, enterprising Amidu, released a defence splitting pass that saw Augusto — now on six goals — outpace a jittery Andrew Mbeba before he let loose a hard and low shot to make it two for Gamecocks.
Instead of playing to the whistle, the entire Bosso rearguard called for an offside on Augusto but the second assistant referee Brilliant Sibanda kept his flag down and the goal stood.
Consequently, Emagumeni briefly turned to a warzone, a development that saw Bosso followers, in protest, throw missiles into the pitch.
This resulted into the lengthy break where local football enthusiasts shockingly witnessed one Bosso supporter jump the perimeter fence at Empakweni End before he proceeded into the field of play and temporarily manhandled an unfortunate Sibanda.
A police reinforcement team had to be called to the venue and it was not long that sanity was restored.
However, Bosso went on to collapse under the weight of Gamecocks who got their third goal courtesy of an intelligent Amidu chip inside the box two minutes before the breather.
The Chicken Inn midfielder took advantage of Mbeba’s indecisiveness and poked the ball home
“It was a bad day in office. We started off very well but the first goal dismantled us. We did not really match Chicken Inn.
“Even after trying to change our playing system the boys had already given up. It’s a pity to say that. I cannot tell the minute when change will happen in the team. Whether I’m there or not the boys need to soldier on. Do you think the situation is normal at Highlanders?” quizzed Ndlovu.
His opposite number Joey Antipas praised his boys for a job well done.
“We planned for them and it perfectly worked for us. This is one game Highlanders wanted to win but I’m happy we soaked the pressure and hit them on the break.
“We put them on double pressing and they then fizzled out after creating lots of chances. However, our rhythm was disrupted by that lengthy stoppage,” said Antipas.
Meanwhile, Highlanders club president Ndumiso Gumede said on twitter after the match that going for seven games without a win was the club’s worst start for the 48 years.
“Highlanders lost 3-0 to Chicken Inn and are now position 17 (last but one) on the log. This is the worst start since 1971.”
State Media